A Bristol brewery owner has apologised for a social media post condemning the “death to the IDF” chants at Glastonbury.
During their set at Glastonbury’s West Holts stage, one member of British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan led a chant calling for “death, death to the IDF”.
Bobby Vylan (who fronts the band, with Bobbie Vylan on drums) also shouted slogans including “free, free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea”, and went on an expletive-ridden rant about working for a “f***ing Zionist”.
In response to the audience joining in with Vylan’s slogan during their Saturday afternoon performance – which police have launched a criminal investigation into – Justin Hawke, founder of the Moor Beer company, posted his dismay on Facebook.
“Thanks to the IDF and soldiers of all western nations who defend our way of life and protect the privileges we enjoy. The hypocrisy of any music fan or festival goer never ceases to perplex me,” he said.
Then, referencing the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival which left 378 people dead, he added: “You should have been there on 7 October. Or perhaps we should have let Hamas repeat at Glastonbury? Then you’d be begging the IDF to save you.”
Following the post from Hawke, a Californian who founded Moor Beer in 2007 after a career in the US Army, social media users, venues and promoters threatened to boycott the company. One venue said they would stop buying Moor beer and that, for every pint served of the remaining stock, they would donate £1 to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
In the wake of the backlash, the brewery published a statement criticising Hawke’s comments and sharing his apology.
“To be clear, Moor Beer were shocked to see Justin’s post yesterday, which he deeply regrets,” the brewery stated.
“As a small, employee-owned company, everyone, including Justin, wants there to be no doubt that we do not support genocide or the atrocities taking place in the Middle East, and are deeply sorry for any offense caused.
“Justin hasn’t been involved in the hands-on day to day operations or communications for some time. He will be issuing a personal apology; he is deeply sorry for the pain he has caused, both to his friends and Moor Beer.”
It comes after Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that Bob Vylan were under “criminal investigation” in relation to the comments following a review of the footage.
The BBC has also apologised for not cutting the iPlayer feed during the gig, with a spokesperson saying the corporation “regrets” allowing the comments to be broadcast.
And the chant drew widespread condemnation across the political spectrum, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer dubbing it “hate speech”.
