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The BBC Aired Anti-Jewish Hate Speech and Broadcast It Across the World
The viral footage of British pop-punk duo Bob Vylan leading a crowd of thousands in antisemitic chants at Glastonbury is as disturbing as it is revealing. It shows how far anti-Jewish hatred has penetrated mainstream British culture. And more damningly, it exposes the role of the UK’s public broadcaster in normalizing this climate of hate.
In a performance likened by some to a neo-Nazi rally, frontman Bobby Vylan incited the crowd to chant “Death, death to the IDF,” followed by “Free, free Palestine,” and once again, “Death, death to the IDF.” He then closed with his twist on the now-ubiquitous Hamas slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, free.”
The band performed in front of a screen that read: “Free Palestine. United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a ‘conflict.’” This, from a band that took its name from Bob Dylan, a Jewish musician who once lived on an Israeli kibbutz, not unlike the ones attacked by Hamas on October 7. Dylan even wrote a song defending Zionism. One wonders if the irony is lost on them, because it certainly wasn’t on us.
Even more chilling was Bobby Vylan’s open call for violence: “We are not pacifist punks here over at Bob Vylan Enterprises. We are the violent punks, because sometimes, you have to get your message across with violence — because that is the only language some people speak.”
Let that sit for a moment. On stage at the UK’s most iconic music festival, a performer openly called for violence, was cheered by a huge crowd, and then broadcast straight into people’s living rooms.
The performance went viral almost instantly. Politicians from across the UK political spectrum condemned it. The police opened an investigation. The government revealed that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had contacted the BBC’s Director-General demanding an “urgent explanation” as to why the performance aired.
The opposition Conservative Party chair Kemi Badenoch called the performance “grotesque,” adding: “Glorifying violence against Jews isn’t edgy. Less than two years ago, hundreds were raped and murdered at a music festival. It’s not just the act, it’s the gormless people clapping along and cheering — people with no idea what real terror is.”
And the BBC? It issued a statement several hours later defending its failure to cut the livestream on the grounds that it had informed viewers about “discriminatory language”:
Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive. During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.
A warning on screen. That’s their excuse for airing what, without a shred of hyperbole, was a festival performance that descended into something indistinguishable from a hate rally.
Worse still, the BBC knew this could happen. Bob Vylan had already used their Coachella slot earlier this year to lead anti-Israel chants, as had another band invited to Glastonbury: the Northern Irish group Kneecap.
Kneecap also went viral for its Coachella performance, which featured violent anti-Israel messaging. The band is currently under police investigation for a UK show where it waved a Hezbollah flag and shouted “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” In light of this, the BBC made the decision not to livestream Kneecap’s Glastonbury set, which, by the way, was scheduled immediately after Bob Vylan.
Yet despite supposedly learning from past mistakes, the BBC still allowed Bob Vylan’s set to air live. Kneecap, too, made its Glastonbury moment about glorifying terrorism, shouting “Free Palestine” and taking a shot at UK politics: “The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.”
So far, Kneecap has lost its US representation over its open flirtation with terrorism, but it’s also gained a whole new fan base. The kind that isn’t there for the music, but for the antisemitism. It turns out that being an antisemite in the entertainment industry pays.
Let’s be clear. Bob Vylan doesn’t care about Palestinians. Before October 7 — before more than 1,200 Israelis were butchered by Hamas, hundreds taken hostage, and a music festival turned into a massacre — they hadn’t uttered a word about “Palestine.” But after Kneecap stole their thunder at Coachella, they came to Glastonbury determined to go even further. And they did.
But the real villains here aren’t just the talentless, hateful musicians. The deeper rot lies first with the BBC, which didn’t just fail to act in advance, but continued airing the performance. The corporation’s coverage of Israel has long been a masterclass in bias. Its news division has distorted the Israel–Palestinian conflict so thoroughly that the British public can barely distinguish fact from Hamas propaganda.
Then there are the Glastonbury Festival organizers, who now insist the performance “crossed a line” and say they’re “urgently reminding” artists not to engage in hate speech. A convenient stance, coming from the very people who invited and paid these acts to appear in the first place.
And finally, the UK government, which suddenly claims to be horrified, despite having allowed London to become ground zero for weekly marches calling for Israel’s destruction. Marches filled with “Globalize the Intifada” slogans and placards glorifying terrorism. Police looked away. Ministers stayed silent. Now, they act surprised.
They all helped build this. And now they act shocked that the monster they fed has taken the stage.
On June 30, UK media regulator Ofcom said the BBC has “questions to answer” over why the performance was aired, and is “urgently” seeking more information. In a new statement, the BBC admitted it should have pulled the stream, calling Bob Vylan’s antisemitic comments “utterly unacceptable.” It added: “With hindsight we regret this did not happen,” and said it will review its guidance for live broadcasts.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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Trump Administration to Release Over $5 Billion School Funding That It Withheld

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
President Donald Trump’s administration will release more than $5 billion in previously approved funding for K-12 school programs that it froze over three weeks ago under a review, which had led to bipartisan condemnation.
“(The White House Office of Management and Budget) has completed its review … and has directed the Department to release all formula funds,” Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the U.S. Education Department, said in a statement, adding funds will be dispersed to states next week.
Further details on the review and what it found were not shared.
A senior administration official said “guardrails” would be in place for the amount being released, without giving details.
Early in July, the Trump administration said it would not release funding previously appropriated by Congress for schools and that an initial review found signs the money was misused to subsidize what it alleged was “a radical leftwing agenda.”
States say $6.8 billion in total was affected by the freeze. Last week, $1.3 billion was released.
After the freeze, a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states sued to challenge the move, and 10 Republican US senators wrote to the Republican Trump administration to reverse its decision.
The frozen money covered funding for education of migrant farm workers and their children; recruitment and training of teachers; English proficiency learning; academic enrichment and after-school and summer programs.
The Trump administration has threatened schools and colleges with withholding federal funds over issues like climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Republican US lawmakers welcomed the move on Friday, while Democratic lawmakers said there was no need to disrupt funding in the first place.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon separately said she was satisfied with what was found in the review and released the money, adding she did not think there would be future freezes.
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Israel to Resume Airdrop Aid to Gaza on Saturday, Military Says

Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Israel will resume airdrop aid to Gaza on Saturday night, the Israeli military said, a few days after more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave.
“The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organizations,” the military added in a statement.
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Trump Says Hamas ‘Didn’t Want to Make a Deal,’ Now Likely to Get ‘Hunted Down’

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – US President Donald Trump on Friday said the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas did not want to make a deal on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.
“Now we’re down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages. And basically because of that, they really didn’t want to make a deal,” Trump said.
The comments followed statements by Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the effect that Israel was now considering “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending the terror rule of Hamas in the coastal enclave.
Trump added he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down.”
On Thursday, Witkoff said the Trump administration had decided to bring its negotiating team home for consultations following Hamas’s latest proposal. Witkoff said overnight that Hamas was to blame for the impasse, with Netanyahu concurring.
Trump also dismissed the significance of French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that Paris would become the first major Western power to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Macron’s comments, “didn’t carry any weight,” the US leader said.
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