🔗 Share this article Bob Vylan's Stance on Glastonbury IDF Protest: "No Remorse" The frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays." Disputed Exclamation and Political Responses The vocal music duo ignited widespread debate when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. The slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech." After the incident, the band was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US government cancelled the members' visas, compelling the duo to cancel a scheduled US and Canada tour. Interview with the Podcaster In his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury show, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded: "Oh yeah. For instance suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays." The artist added that the criticism the duo faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through." Regarding the Protest's Significance "I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative media?" Surprising Response and BBC Comments This musician claimed he was taken aback by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "fantastic." Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently found that the network's airing of the show violated content guidelines in relation to offense and hurt. He told Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'" Reply to Damon Albarn The musician also responded at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear." His comment was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked. "I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated. "I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his answer was disgusting." Meaning Behind the Slogan After questioned what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "insignificant." "What is important is the conditions that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in the region. In which the local population are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated. "Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan." Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations Vylan also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their performance led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents recorded later. "I don't think I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he commented. Contrast with Different Artists As Vylan mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more severely than different artists for speaking about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Irish band another band, who have also encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy. "That's a notable point," he responded, "since as with all things race becomes a factor in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the opponent."