Irish group leads ‘death to the IDF’ chant as anti-Israel acts take the stage at Glastonbury

Irish-language rap group Kneecap performs to tens of thousands of people at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio’s members.

Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November. He’s on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August.

“Glastonbury, I’m a free man!” Ó hAnnaidh shouts as Kneecap takes the stage at Glastonbury’s West Holts field, which holds about 30,000 people. A scattering of Palestinian flags flew in the capacity crowd before the show, which opened with an audio montage of news clips referring to the band’s critics and legal woes.

The Belfast trio has been praised for invigorating the Irish-language cultural scene in Northern Ireland, but also criticized for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references, and political statements.

The band draws, often satirically, on the language and imagery of the Irish republican movement and Northern Ireland’s decades of violence. It has faced criticism since videos emerged allegedly showing the band shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and calling on people to kill lawmakers.

Before Kneecap took the stage, a member of the English punk group Bob Vylan led the crowd in chants of “free Palestine and, “death, death, death to the IDF.”

“Hell yeah, from the river to the sea, Palestine must be free,” added the singer.