The second weekend of the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Southern California became a platform for anti-Israel messaging over the weekend, as multiple performers used their sets to launch attacks against the Jewish state and US support for Israel.
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap projected slogans such as “F*** Israel, Free Palestine” and accusing Israel of committing genocide – an accusation that Israeli officials and international legal experts have consistently rejected as unfounded and inflammatory.
The group also targeted American foreign policy, claiming the US “arms and funds Israel despite their war crimes.” During their performance, frontman Mo Chara likened Ireland’s colonial history to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Palestinians have nowhere to go. This is their f***ing home, and they’re being bombed from the sky,” he said.
According to Jewish agent Scooter Braun, the festival’s founder Paul Tollett was blindsided by the anti-Israel group. Writing on Instagram, Braun said: “When I invited Paul to the opening of the Nova music exhibit in Los Angeles, he was the first person from the industry to accept.
"He came on his own time and spent five hours in the exhibit and then met with survivors of Nova and invited them to the festival this year as his guest. He cried with them, he laughed with them, and he continues to advocate for them. Let’s not lose sight of who this man is, and let us stand with him in this moment when a group, without his knowing, took advantage of his festival and created hate in a place that’s filled with love.”
Kneecap later claimed that Coachella organisers censored its anti-Israel visuals from the festival’s livestream. The allegation has not been independently verified.
Nova festival survivors also released a statement, saying: “This past weekend at Coachella, the band Kneecap shared messaging that deeply hurt many in our community — an affront made even more painful in light of the massacre that took place at the Nova Music Festival on October 7. The Nova community was built on the ideals of peace, freedom, and unity through music. Our festival was a space where people came together across cultures and beliefs to celebrate life. That’s why we believe that even in the face of ignorance or provocation, our response must be rooted in empathy, not hate. … We invite the members of Kneecap to visit the Nova Exhibition and experience firsthand the stories of those who were murdered, those who survived, and those who are still being held hostage. Not to shame or silence — but to connect. To witness. To understand.”
