Airing of ‘vile Jew-hate’ at Glastonbury was a moment of ‘national shame’, says Chief Rabbi

The Chief Rabbi has said the airing of “vile Jew-hatred” at Glastonbury was a moment of “national shame”.

Sir Ephraim Mirvis also condemned what he saw as “outright incitement to violence and hatred” at the festival.

His statement followed the announcement that punk duo Bob Vylan and rap group Kneecap were under criminal investigation by police over their performances.

The Chief Rabbi also slammed the BBC’s handling of Bob Vylan’s concert.

Posting on X, he wrote: “This is a time of national shame. The airing of vile Jew-hatred at Glastonbury and the BBC’s belated and mishandled response, brings confidence in our national broadcaster’s ability to treat antisemitism seriously to a new low.

“It should trouble all decent people that now, one need only couch their outright incitement to violence and hatred as edgy political commentary, for ordinary people to not only fail to see it for what it is, but also to cheer it, chant it and celebrate it.”

The Chief Rabbi, who was recently evacuated from Israel in an RAF flight amid the war with Iran, concluded that “toxic Jew-hatred is a threat to our entire society”.

To the backdrop of a Palestinian flag, Bob Vylan performed on the West Holts Stage on the fourth day of the Glastonbury festival. Police are now investigating his set after he led chants of "death to the IDF" and went on a tirade against his former "Zionist" boss (Photo: Oli SCARFF / AFP)AFP via Getty Images

During a heavily politicised afternoon of music at the festival’s West Holts state on Saturday, Pascal Robinson-Foster, who goes by the name Bobby Vylan, led a crowd of thousands in the chant “death to the IDF” and launched an expletive-filled rant about “Zionists” in the music industry.

In their set, which followed the Bob Vylan performance, one of Kneecap’s members called for a “riot” when his bandmate returns to court in August on terror charges. He later clarified: “No riots; just love and support.”

The bandmate due in court in August has denied the terror charge.

Having livestreamed Bob Vylan’s performance, the BBC later pulled the set from iPlayer and said in a statement on Monday: “The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.

“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.”

The Chief Rabbi is the latest figure to condemn the comments by Robinson-Foster. The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said there was “no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech, and the BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast”.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, culture secretary Lisa Nandy called the scenes "appalling and unacceptable".

She told MPs that she immediately called the BBC's director general after the Robinson-Foster’s set was broadcast. It was later reported that Sir Tim Davie was at Glastonbury visiting BBC staff on site when he received the call from Nandy.

Announcing the criminal investigation into the afternoon’s shows, Avon and Somerset Police said the force had appointed a senior detective to investigate whether comments made by either act amounted to a criminal offence.

In a statement, they said: “Video footage and audio from Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday has been reviewed. Following the completion of that assessment process we have decided further enquiries are required and a criminal investigation is now being undertaken.

“This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our enquiries are at an early stage. The investigation will be evidence-led and will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes.

“We have received a large amount of contact in relation to these events from people across the world and recognise the strength of public feeling.

“There is absolutely no place in society for hate.

“Neighbourhood policing teams are speaking with people in their local communities and key stakeholders to make sure anyone who needs us knows that we are here for them.

“We hope the work we have carried out, and are continuing to carry out, reassures the public how seriously we are treating Saturday’s events.”

Bob Vylan posted on Instagram on Monday saying: "We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people.

"We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine."

They said that "we, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. We are a distraction from the story, and whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction."