Bob Vylan ‘Not Regretful’ About “Death, Death to the IDF” Chant at Glastonbury: ‘I’d Do It Again Tomorrow’
London (QNN)- Bob Vylan frontman Bobby Vylan is “not regretful” of his “death, death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury in July and said he would “do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays”.
In July, the outspoken punk duo sparked backlash by chanting “Death to the IDF” during their set on the West Holts Stage. During the show, he also shouted “Free, free Palestine” and criticized the UK media’s coverage of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a sea of supporters chanted along and waved Palestinian flags. Behind the stage, a large screen displayed the message: “The United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a ‘conflict.’”
Video clips from the performance went viral and were praised by people on social media.
In one, Bobby Vylan addresses the crowd: “Alright, but have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF.”
Despite mounting pressure, Bob Vylan maintained their stance, rejecting claims of antisemitism. “We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people,” they said, asserting their message is against militarised violence, not identity.
Many praised the chant as a form of political protest against Israeli military crimes in Gaza. The Israeli forces have killed over 68,000 people most of whom are children and women in two years of genocide.
The band reiterated their position, telling followers: “Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting.”
The chant was condemned by Glastonbury and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, who described it as “appalling hate speech”.
Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the member’s visas, forcing them to cancel a North American tour.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast in his first interview since Glastonbury, Vylan was asked if he would do it all again.
He replied: “Oh yeah. Like what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I’m not regretful of it. I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays.
He said the backlash the band had faced was “minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through”.
“I don’t want to overstate the importance of the chant,” he added. “That’s not what I’m trying to do, but if I have their support, they’re the people that I’m doing it for, they’re the people that I’m being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I’ve upset some rightwing politician or some rightwing media?”
Asked what he meant by the chant “Death to the IDF,” Vylan said the chant itself was “unimportant”.
“What is important is the conditions that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?” he said.
“Death to the IDF” rhymes, he added: “‘End, End the IDF’ does not rhyme, wouldn’t have caught on, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. ‘Death, Death to IDF’ rhymes. Perfect chant.”
Vylan also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust (CST), a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set contributed to a spike in antisemitic incidents reported two days later.
“I don’t think I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like ‘Bob Vylan made me do this’. I might go, oof, I’ve had a negative impact here,” he said.
