Police Consider Criminal Charges After Rapper Leads ‘Death To The IDF’ Chant At Festival

Authorities in the United Kingdom said they are considering an investigation after rapper Bobby Vylan led anti-Israel chants at the Glastonbury Festival over the weekend.

Video posted to X showed Vylan repeatedly shouting “free, free Palestine,” and each time the crowd yelled it back. The same exchange happened when Vylan began screaming “death, death to the IDF,” using the acronym for the Israeli Defense Forces. “From the river to the sea” was also said by the performer.

“We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon,” Avon and Somerset Police said in a post on X. “Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”

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The Glastonbury Festival posted a statement on Instagram criticizing the rapper, who is part of the punk duo that also goes by the name Bob Vylan.

Glastonbury.
The UK’s biggest music festival.
Over 200,000 in attendance.

On stage, Bob Vylan screamed:
“DEATH! DEATH TO THE IDF!”
And the crowd screamed it back.

This is how mainstream Jew-hatred has become.
Absolutely disgusting. pic.twitter.com/TC95dtEf0l

— Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JewsFightBack) June 28, 2025

“With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs,” the statement said.

It added, “However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. 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 antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

Variety reported that BBC, which aired Bob Vylan’s set, called the comments made during the performance “deeply offensive” and said it had no plans to make the set available on demand.

The news outlet also noted the hip-hop group Kneecap led chants of “f—” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and “free Palestine” at the same festival. Mo Chara, one of the band’s members, is fighting a terrorism charge after displaying a Hezbollah flag during a prior show.

The Israeli Embassy in the United Kingdom said in a post on X that it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival,” adding, “Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. But when speech crosses into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic cleansing, it must be called out — especially when amplified by public figures on prominent platforms.”