Primal Scream concert visuals combine swastikas and Stars of David, sparking outrage
CST files police complaint over graphics fusing Nazi symbols, Jewish imagery on eyes of global politicians alongside images of Gaza; venue says it condemns antisemitism; band defends ‘art’
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Scottish rock group Primal Scream superimposed swastikas combined with Stars of David over the eyes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as well as other global politicians, in on-stage graphics during a Monday night concert, leading a Jewish security group to file a police complaint.
The Scottish band was playing at the historic Roundhouse venue in north London, where they performed their 2000 single “Swastika Eyes.”
During the song, the band flashed images on screen of global politicians — many of them Israeli — in which their eyes had been replaced by flashing swastikas inside a Star of David.
The photos were interspersed with images of Gaza, which has been largely destroyed amid Israel’s two-year war with Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s massacre on October 7, 2023, and the song ended with the words “our government is complicit in genocide” emblazoned on the screen.
The politicians featured by Primal Scream included US President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Argentine President Javier Milei and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
A spokesperson for the Jewish organization Community Security Trust told the Daily Mail on Thursday that it had reported Primal Scream to the police over the incident and called for an “urgent investigation” by the Roundhouse into how the images were allowed to be used.
The band Primal Scream have got some strange taste in background videos, like Netanyahu with swastikas in his eyes… pic.twitter.com/d3fPOk7tkX
— The Electronic Uprising (@uprising_1) December 11, 2025
“Entwining a Star of David with a swastika implies that Jews are Nazis and risks encouraging hatred of Jews,” said a spokesperson for the CST in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Roundhouse said that the venue did not know in advance about the “highly offensive images,” and said that the act “stands against all our values.”
The Roundhouse “absolutely condemns antisemitism in every form,” the spokesperson said, adding: “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and remain committed to ensuring that our spaces are places where everyone feels secure, respected and valued.”
In a post on Instagram on Friday, Primal Scream responded to the allegations of antisemitism, defending their actions.
“The film is a piece of art,” the statement said. “It clearly draws from history to question where the actions of current world governments sit in that context.”
It added: “It is meant to provoke debate, not hate. In a free, pluralistic and liberal society, freedom of expression is a right which we choose to exercise.”
The group, founded by frontman Bobby Gillespie in 1982, is well known for its criticism of Israel.
In October, they were among 400 signatories to a list of musicians calling for their works to be blocked from distribution in Israel as part of an initiative called “No Music for Genocide,” in protest of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.