It was interesting timing. I had just returned from a reporting trip to Gaza, during which I had witnessed the brutality of Israeli troops as they killed and maimed protesters. Yet I had also seen how leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad stoked the fury of despairing young people, then I met in secret with a dissident brave enough to confront their despotic and corrupt rule on this tormented strip of land. And before leaving, I had bumped into a mutual friend at the airport – a well-known DJ – who was returning home after playing a show in Tel Aviv.
Since then, of course, Israel’s repression has exploded in both Gaza and the West Bank under its malevolent, self-serving prime minister and his ghastly far-right allies – which was, lest anyone ever forgets, fuelled by a Hamas-led rampage of murder, rape and kidnap of peace-loving people living in left-leaning kibbutzim and joyfully attending a music festival.
Kneecap (L) and Bob Vylan (R) performing at Glastonbury (Photos: PA)
And now there is a fresh outburst of fury over punk rap duo Bob Vylan leading chants of “Death to the IDF” from West Holts stage. The prime minister has complained, the police are investigating and the BBC is facing wearily-inevitable attack over its live broadcast.
Yet the truth is that most people attending this famously liberal event are probably more agitated over Rod Stewart’s expression of support for Nigel Farage – a highly unusual tactic to attract a Glastonbury audience – in the wake of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. Not least when these disturbing deeds are being carried out with the complicity of Western governments, most notably the United States but also including our own.
I have been listening to Andrew Hickey’s brilliant podcast series A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, and as he points out in his laconic style, getting a record banned and attracting notoriety has been a surefire way to have a hit for more than seven decades. This has been the case whether the issue infuriating the establishment involves sex, drugs or politics. Just look at the swollen size of Glastonbury’s crowd at the weekend cheering on Kneecap, or think how happy a pair of cult performers from Ipswich must be with their sudden publicity.
Yet musicians have a platform, a voice and a history of being in the vanguard of societal change as they express views of younger generations. And these events, however distasteful, reflect a public mood turning against Israel even in the US, where polls have indicated a sharp rise in negative views of the nation with even Republicans under 50 now more likely to hold unfavourable views.
square MEDIA Big ReadBBC turmoil over Glastonbury coverage of Bob Vylan: 'Senior heads should roll'
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It is being widened by an appalling Israeli prime minister who has been disastrous for his country, its precious democracy and Jewish people around the planet as he stops at nothing in his fight for a personal survival that is spilling so much Palestinian blood, spreading such misery, fostering toxic resentment and taking huge risks with global stability.
On the other, prominent voices leap to condemn the behaviour of some artists at Glastonbury while staying silent – or even supporting – sickening atrocities and human rights abuses taking place around the world. Both sides are backed by keyboard armies, clashing endlessly on social media.
Yet as recent Glastonbury headliner Elton John once said, nothing is more profound nor more powerful than recognising our common humanity.
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