🔗 Share this article Bob Vylan's Position on Glastonbury Israel Defense Forces Protest: "No Regrets" The frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at the festival and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays." Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions This vocal music duo sparked significant debate when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June performance. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech." After the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation UTA, and the US state department revoked the members' travel documents, compelling the duo to call off a planned North American concert series. Conversation with Louis Theroux In his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury show, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he replied: "Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays." The artist noted that the backlash the duo faced was "minimal compared to what individuals in Palestine are experiencing." On the Protest's Significance "I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the people that I'm doing it for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing official or some conservative news outlet?" Surprising Response and BBC Feedback This musician said he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the chant, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "excellent." However, the corporation's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's airing of the show breached editorial guidelines in regard to offense and hurt. Vylan informed Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'" Reply to Damon Albarn Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in sport gear." Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked. "I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained. "I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting." Intent Behind the Chant When asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "unimportant." "What is important is the conditions that exist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in Palestine. In which the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated. "The phrase rhymes," he noted: "'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. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant." Denial of Antisemitism Claims Vylan also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish events recorded later. "I believe I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish community. If there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he commented. Contrast with Other Bands As Vylan mentioned he thought the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish group another band, who have also encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy. "That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "because as with all things ethnicity becomes a part in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."