Bobby Vylan performed at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival in Glastonbury in June. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo
The English alternative rap duo Bob Vylan responded Tuesday to recent backlash over comments in regard to the Israel-Hamas conflict during a performance over the weekend.
“We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people,” the band posted to its social media platform Tuesday. “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,” the post continued.
In a performance streamed live from the Glastonbury Festival in England on Saturday by the BBC on Saturday, Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan led the crowd in chants like “Free, free Palestine,” “Death, death to the IDF,” in reference to the Israel Defense Forces,” and “From the river to the sea.”
The American Jewish Committee states that “from the river to the sea” is “a phrase that can be used to call for the elimination of the State of Israel and/or ethnic cleansing of Jews living there, to be replaced with Palestinian control over the entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”
Since the performance, the U.S. State Department banned them from the United States.
“The [State Department] has revoked the U.S. visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in an X post Monday.
“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” he added.
The Avon and Somerset Police Department, who include Glastonbury in its jurisdiction, announced Monday that after having viewed video of the concert, “We have decided further enquiries are required and a criminal investigation is now being undertaken.”
The BBC also put out a statement Monday that “with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.”
It also appears that Bob Vylan has been dropped by its representation group United Talent Agency, as the band’s name is no longer listed on the UTA website. A link to a Bob Vylan UTA page now just leads back to the site’s front page.
“We are being targeted for speaking up,” continued the post from Bob Vylan, “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,” it concluded.
The group still lists tour dates for later this year set to take place around the United States, with no mention of the actions of the U.S. State Department.
