Scottish band Primal Scream draws backlash over concert backdrop of Israeli officials with swastika-eyes
‘It is meant to provoke debate, not hate,’ the band said, rejecting allegations of antisemitism
Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream performs onstage in front of a display featuring a swastika-Star of David hybrid during a concert at the Roundhouse music venue on Dec. 08, 2025 in London, England. Screenshot of Primal Scream
(JTA) — The Scottish rock band Primal Scream is rejecting criticism that it received after displaying Stars of David entwined with swastikas at a concert in London on Monday, as part of an anti-Israel demonstration.
The images were projected behind the stage during the performance of Primal Scream’s 2000 song “Swastika Eyes.” It featured images from the war in Gaza as well as a wide-ranging host of political figures with the flashing swastika/Star of David hybrid over their eyes.
Among the leaders targeted in the film were President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Argentinian President Javier Milei, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
At the end of the performance Monday, which was at the Roundhouse music venue in Camden, Primal Scream also displayed the words “Our government is complicit in genocide.”
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
The display adds to a growing list of anti-Israel stunts involving British bands in recent months. In April, the Irish rap group Kneecap set off a wave of anti-Israel protests by music groups after they displayed the words “F–k Israel. Free Palestine” during their set at the Coachella music festival.
After one of the band members, Liam O’Hanna, was hit with a terrorism charge for displaying a Hezbollah flag at another concert the previous year, Primal Scream was one of dozens of U.K. artists that rushed to Kneecap’s defense. (The terrorism charges against O’Hanna were dropped in September.)
Primal Scream is also one of the most prominent acts to demand in recent months that its music not be available on the music platform Spotify to listeners in Israel, out of protest against Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza.
“I was at this gig, and I was horrified,” one concertgoer wrote in a post on X about the latest show. “This transcends opinions on Zionism – the imagery was blatantly racist. I can guarantee that Primal Scream has just pushed hundreds of people away from their cause, by exploiting the war in Gaza to be edgy. Warped and self-indulgent.”
The Community Security Trust, a Jewish security organization, reported the incident to police. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received a report that was being assessed.
“CST is appalled by the grossly antisemitic image displayed at Primal Scream,” the Community Security Trust said in a statement. “Entwining a Star of David with a swastika implies that Jews are Nazis and risks encouraging hatred of Jews. There needs to be an urgent investigation by the venue and the promoter about how this happened and we will be reporting to the police.”
Roundhouse issued an apology for the display, saying that it was “appalled that antisemitic imagery was displayed” in a statement.
“We deeply regret that these highly offensive images were presented on our stage and unequivocally apologise to anyone who attended the gig, and to the wider Jewish community,” the statement said. “The content, which was used entirely without our knowledge, stands against all of our values.”
Despite the backlash to the incendiary display, Primal Scream, which was founded in Glasgow in 1982 by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie, brushed off criticism in a post on Instagram Friday, writing that it was a “piece of art.”
“It clearly draws from history to question where the actions of world governments sit in that context. It is meant to provoke debate, not hate,” the post said. “In a free, pluralistic and liberal society freedom of expression is a right which we choose to exercise.”
