Bob Vylan have issued a fresh statement regarding their controversial Glastonbury set, and reiterated that they are “not for the death of Jews or Arabs or any other race or group”. Find the latest comment in full below.
The duo gave a controversial performance at Worthy Farm on Saturday (June 28). Taking place over at the West Holts stage ahead of Kneecap’s set, the performance saw the group use their platform to voice their support for Palestine, call out the BBC, Israel, the US and UK governments and more.
Various political slogans were projected onto the screen behind them, including “Free Palestine – United Nations have called it a genocide – the BBC calls it a ‘conflict’”, and they also led chants of both “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF”.
Following the slot, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau described the actions as a “hateful tirade” and confirmed that the band have had their US visas revoked. It was also reported that they were dropped by their agent United Talent Agency (UTA), and that Somerset police were launching “a criminal investigation” into the set.
The frontman Bobby Vylan would then address the incident on Sunday (June 29), saying that he thought it was vital to be “teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place”.
Now, he has shared another statement clarifying that he is after the “dismantling of a violent military machine”, not calling for “the death of Jews or Arabs or any other race or group”.
“Not the first. Not the last,” the statement began. “Today, a good many people would have you believe a punk band is the number one threat to world peace. Last week it was a Palestine pressure group, the week before that it was another band.”
“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. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use ‘unnecessary lethal force’ against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza,” it added. “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.”
“The government doesn’t want us to ask why they remain silent in the face of this atrocity? To ask why they aren’t doing more to stop the killing? To feed the starving? The more time they talk about Bob Vylan, the less time they spend answering for their criminal inaction,” it continued.
“We are being targeted for speaking up. We are not the first. We will not be the last. And if you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too. Free Palestine.”
Kneecap’s Mo Chara performs at Glastonbury 2025. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
The comments around the group “not being the story” and “another band” that spoke out before them both relate to Kneecap, who divided opinion after their set at Coachella and saw member Mo Chara appear in court over an alleged terror offence. Among the many artists who spoke out in support of the hip-hop trio were Massive Attack.
The group, who have been vocal in their support for Palestine for decades and have boycotted performing in Israel since 1999, issued a statement supporting Kneecap and urging the focus to remain on what they call a “genocide” against the Palestinian people.
“Kneecap are not the story,” Massive Attack wrote. “Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story. And the silence, acquiescence and support of those crimes against humanity by the elected British government is the real story.”
The UN has found Israel’s military actions to be consistent with genocide, and at least 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The comments towards the IDF made by Bob Vylan at Glasto came just hours after it was reported that the Israeli military had launched an investigation into possible war crimes following mounting evidence that troops intentionally opened fire on Palestinian civilians trying to access aid in Gaza (via The Guardian).
The report outlined that hundreds were killed in recent weeks by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while waiting for food to be distributed, and last Friday (June 27) the Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers as claiming that they were ordered to fire at crowds near food distribution sites to keep them away from Israeli military positions. The IDF has rejected the accusations and said that no such orders were given.
“To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians,” the statement said, while Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and defence minister, Israel Katz, described the claims as “malicious falsehoods designed to defame the IDF, the most moral military in the world” (via The Guardian).
Crowds at the West Holts stage as Kneecap perform at Glastonbury 2025. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
Following the duo’s performance at Glastonbury 2025, the Glastonbury issued a statement saying it was “appalled” by their “death to the IDF” chants, adding: “Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”
Cabinet minister Wes Streeting has also criticised the performance, while also telling the Israeli embassy to “get its own house in order”.
The BBC have said they should have pulled live coverage of the group’s Glastonbury 2025 set, while Ofcom say they’re treating it “as a matter of urgency”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has also weighed in on the BBC’s choice to live stream the set, saying “several” editorial failures “becomes a problem of leadership”.
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