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Corporate media and establishment politicians went into a frenzy when musicians performing at the iconic Glastonbury Festival in Britain over June 25-29 spoke out against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

of punk rap duo Bob Vylan leading a chant of “Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]” during their set on June 28, which was broadcast live on the BBC, went viral around the world, drawing condemnation and applause.

“We’ve seen some fucked up things happening in the world,” Bobby Vylan before the chant. “We’ve seen the UK and the US be complicit in war crimes and genocide happening to the Palestinian people.

“I know we are on the BBC, we’re not going to say anything crazy, but unfortunately we have seen a strange reaction to people who come out and voice support for Palestine, even though anybody with a moral compass can tell that what is happening over there in Gaza is a tragedy.”

They dedicated their performance to all bands and performers who have spoken up for the people of Palestine, leading chants of “Free free Palestine!”. “Alright but have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF!

“Hell yeah, from the river to the sea Palestine must be, will be free Inshallah.”

Bob Vylan’s music tackles inequality, racism, sexism and is very critical of the British government. Both members use stage names — Bobby Vylan on vocals and guitar and Bobbie Vylan on drums — to maintain their anonymity.

The BBC said the comments were “utterly unacceptable” and that it regretted not cutting the live stream of the performance.

“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves,” it said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had previously called Irish rap trio Kneecap’s appearance at the festival “not appropriate”, condemned Bob Vylan’s chants as “appalling hate speech”.

Even United States politicians joined the choir of condemnation, with far-right Texas Senator Ted Cruz posting “This is the base of the Democrat Party”, despite the festival taking place in Britain.

Many have pointed out the disparity between the British, US and Australia governments’ full-throated support for Israel’s war crimes, genocide, intentional starvation and bombing of civilians and their quick condemnation of anyone who speaks out against said genocide.

In a social media post the day after the clip went viral, Bobby Vylan said: “Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way to make this world a better place.

“Let them see us marching on the streets, campaigning on ground level, organising online and shouting about it on any and every stage we are offered.”

In his July 1 statement, Bobby Vylan refused to back down. “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 for the dismantling of a violent military machine … that has destroyed much of Gaza.

“We are being targeted for speaking up. We are not the first. We will not be the last … we urge you to speak up too.”

The BBC had already planned not to air Kneecap’s set because of their history of support for Palestine, however a woman called Helen Wilson livestreamed the performance on her TikTok page, with more than 1 million people tuning in.

Kneecap thanked Wilson for her efforts and offered free tickets to any future show.

During their set Kneecap spoke up for Palestine Action, a pro-Palestine direct action group that is being threatened with being labelled a terror group and banned by the British government under the Terrorism Act.

A “flashmob” protest was held at the festival with about 200 protesters wearing t-shirts that read “We are all Palestine Action”.

“Palestine Action is not arming the genocide and Israel – that’s Keir Starmer and the British government, who should be proscribed,” Kneecap said.

Kneecap’s Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known as Mo Chara, has been charged with terror offences for waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in November.

Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s Glastonbury performances are under investigation by British police, and the US has cancelled Bob Vylan’s visas ahead of their upcoming US tour.

Other artists also spoke up for Palestine including Irish singer-songwriter CMAT, English rock band The Libertines, Irish band Inhaler, British singer-songwriter Nadine Shah and football personality and presenter Gary Lineker. Many other acts wore keffiyehs on stage or waved Palestinian flags as an act of solidarity.

Peoples Dispatch that solidarity with Palestine was on display at other music festivals across Europe. "At Zagreb’s InMusic Festival, bands like Fontaines DC and Massive Attack displayed Palestinian flags and screened footage from Gaza – images that were omitted from mainstream media coverage of the event."

The media outrage at and attempts to censor these statements and actions opposing Israel’s ongoing genocide reveals the disconnect between the ruling class and ordinary people.

More than 21 months of seeing videos on social media of children losing limbs, bombs dropped on tents, families wiped out and hundreds of thousands starving has had an impact.

The hundreds of thousands of people joining Palestine solidarity protests in London, The Hague, Berlin, Rome and other cities shows that people are no longer buying the narrative that the corporate media is selling, and this powerful movement gives wind to those artists who are bravely speaking out.

Australian punk band Amyl and the Sniffers, who performed at the festival, said in a  the media was trying to make it look like Bob Vylan and Kneecap are “a couple of ‘bad bands’” instead of acknowledging the enormous support for Palestine at the festival.

“The status quo has shifted majorly … people are concerned and desperate for our gov[ernments] to listen.”