This year’s Glastonbury didn’t just fail to unite, it actively divided. On the biggest stage, in front of tens of thousands of festivalgoers and broadcast into homes across Britain, an artist chanted “death to the IDF.” Not metaphor. Not protest. A direct call for violence. And the BBC aired it without flinching.
Let’s not sugar-coat what that moment meant. The IDF, the Israel Defence Forces, are the military wing of a democratic state, not some rogue militia. A performer calling for their eradication is not edgy or political; it’s an incitement to hatred. And when those words are met with roars of approval and a sea of Palestinian flags, we can’t just chalk it up to artistic expression. We have to call it what it is: dangerous.
The BBC had choices. They could have cut the stream. They could have issued a proper condemnation. Instead, they gave us a half-hearted disclaimer and watched the moment unfold with all the passivity of a state-funded bystander. For a broadcaster that once prided itself on impartiality, this was a capitulation, one that says more about its editorial instincts than any policy document ever could.
And where was the leadership? Wes Streeting, one of Labour’s supposed grown-ups, condemned the performance, only to immediately pivot and criticise Israel. It was classic both-sides-ism dressed up as nuance. Keir Starmer, meanwhile, remained silent. Silence that speaks volumes.
Labour once wrapped itself in the banner of moral clarity. Now it seems paralysed, desperate to appease both its moderates and its activist fringe. What we saw wasn’t neutrality. It was evasion. It was moral cowardice.
At a time when British Jews face rising hate crimes, when hostages remain in Gaza, and when terrorist organisations are openly cheered in our streets, we needed clarity. What we got was the BBC amplifying hate, and Labour hedging its bets.
This shouldn’t be complicated. When someone calls for the death of soldiers from a democratic ally, live on national television, the response should be swift and unequivocal.
Instead, it was just another day of normalised hate, streamed with public money and greeted with political cowardice.
We deserve better. And we must demand it.
