Wes Streeting has told the Israeli government to get its “own house in order” and take violence against Palestinians more seriously following outrage over chants at Glastonbury.
Police are assessing videos of sets by Bob Vylan, who led crowds to shout “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF”, the Israeli Defence Force, and Irish rap trio Kneecap, who suggested fans “start a riot” outside one of the band’s upcoming court appearance.
Sir Keir Starmer has demanded the BBC explain how “appalling” chants against the IDF were broadcast.
Health secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News the scenes were “appalling” and said “I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens.”
On social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival”.
Asked about the embassy’s response to chants at Glastonbury, Mr Streeting added that he would say to the Israeli embassy, “get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank”.
He added: “I think there’s a serious point there by the Israeli embassy I take seriously. I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously.”
Mr Streeting said what people should be talking about in the context of Israel and Gaza is the humanitarian catastrophe and the fact that Israeli settlers attacked a Christian village this week.
He added: “All life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we’ve got to a stage in this conflict where you’re supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it’s a football team.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes “grotesque”, writing on X: “Glorifying violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “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.”
Glastonbury Festival said it was “appalled” by the actions of Bob Vylan, adding: “Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”
