Bob Vylan have hit out at the British government after receiving the news that they will face no criminal charges following the completion of a police investigation into their Glastonbury festival set in June.
In the wake of the performance, Avon and Somerset Police announced that they were opening an investigation into comments made by the London punk-grime duo during their June 28 set on the site's West Holts stage, which was livestreamed in the UK via the BBC's iPlayer service.
The controversy stemmed from comments made on stage by vocalist Bobby Vylan in regards to what the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry classified as genocide committed by Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. During the set, Vylan referred to "fucked up things happening in the world", before adding "We're seeing the UK and the US be complicit in war crimes and genocide happening over there to the Palestinian people." The band's frontman later initiated a chant of "Death, death to the IDF" in reference to the Israeli Defense Forces: the country's army, navy, and air force.
The band were widely condemned for their comments.
"We are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday," the festival organisers said in a statement on June 29. "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."
