State Dept. revokes visas for Bob Vylan following ‘death to the IDF’ chants at Glastonbury
“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” said an official
Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England, June 28, 2025. Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images
(JTA) — Members of the British punk band Bob Vylan have had their U.S. visas revoked by the State Department after leading thousands of concert-goers in chanting “Death, death to the IDF” last weekend at the Glastonbury music festival in England.
The announcement by the State Department comes as the punk rock duo was slated to go on a North American tour beginning in late October, with 18 U.S. venues set to host the band.
But with their visas now rescinded, the tour is in jeopardy.
“The @StateDept has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants,” wrote Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in a post on X. “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.”
Bob Vylan has faced both backlash and praise following their anti-Israel chants at the Glastonbury festival, and their performance is now being reviewed by British police. The group defended their performance on social media, writing that “whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction.”
“We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs of any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine,” the band wrote in a post on X.
“We are being targeted for speaking up. We are not the first, we will not be the last. And if you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too,” the post continued.
The British broadcaster BBC is also catching fire for live streaming Bob Vylan’s set, writing in a statement Monday that it should have pulled the livestream during the band’s performance, adding that the BBC “respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence.”
The United Kingdom’s chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, lambasted the airing of the band’s performance, writing in a post on X that “toxic Jew-hatred is a threat to our entire society.”
“This is a time of national shame. The airing of vile Jew-hatred at Glastonbury and the BBC’s belated and mishandled response, brings confidence in our national broadcaster’s ability to treat antisemitism seriously to a new low,” Mirvis wrote.
“It should trouble all decent people that now, one need only couch their outright incitement to violence and hatred as edgy political commentary, for ordinary people to not only fail to see it for what it is, but also to cheer it, chant it and celebrate it. Toxic Jew-hatred is a threat to our entire society,” Mirvis continued.
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