Jewish Council, British MPs Urge Manchester Academy to Nix Concert by ‘Antisemitic’ Band Bob Vylan

Shiryn Ghermezian

Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)

British Members of Parliament and Jewish leaders are urging the college preparatory school Manchester Academy to cancel a concert next month featuring the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan because of the band’s promotion of antisemitism.

The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester (JRC) & Region said this week in a released statement, backed by 10 MPs, that it is “deeply concerned” about the school’s decision to host Bob Vylan on Nov. 5 after the band has “repeatedly engaged in rhetoric that crosses the line from legitimate political discourse into antisemitism and incitement.” The JRC said Bob Vylan’s “statements and actions do not provoke debate but carry a real danger by promoting hatred.” The statement was backed by 10 British lawmakers, including Greater Manchester Labour MPs Navendu Mishra, Jo Platt, Graham Stringer, Christian Wakeford, and Paul Waugh.

While performing at the Glastonbury Festival in June in Somerset, England, Bob Vylan led the crowd in chanting, “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. The band’s lead singer, Pascal Robinson-Foster, also complained on stage about working for a “f–king Zionist.” Their Glastonbury set was broadcast live on the BBC, whose chairman later apologized for airing the band’s “unconscionable antisemitic views.” The BBC also apologized for live streaming Bob Vylan’s “offensive and deplorable behavior” while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the anti-IDF chant as “appalling hate speech.”

There was a recorded rise in antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom the day after the band’s Glastonbury performance. Bob Vylan has denied accusations about the band being antisemitic.

Following the ordeal at Glastonbury, Bob Vylan was removed from the lineup for Manchester’s Radar Festival and France’s Kave Fest, their US visas were revoked ahead of their North America tour, and they were dropped by their talent agency. The band plans to visit Manchester next month on their “We Won’t Go Quietly” tour.

“There is a vital distinction between legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and speech that veers into antisemitism,” the JRC noted in its statement. “Freedom of expression is a central component of our democracy that must be protected but it cannot be right to platform an artist who has consistently been condemned as hateful and racist. We call on the Manchester Academy to cancel the performance and commit to clear policies to ensure that it will not legitimize prejudice under the guise of freedom of speech.”

The Chief Executive of the JRC is Marc Levy, whose father, Alan Levy, was among congregants at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester when it was attacked last week on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The stabbing attack left two congregants dead and three other people injured. The attacker, identified by police as 35-year-old Jihad al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by officers at the scene of the crime.

The JRC sent a letter to Manchester Academy last month that also demanded the school cancel Bob Vylan’s upcoming concert. The Jewish council said that their statement this week about the concert was originally meant to be released on Oct. 3 but was pushed because of the deadly terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation.

“Over the last few days, we have spoken about how incitement across society is putting the Jewish community in danger,” the JRC said this week. “One of the many issues we have continually raised is how our cultural spaces are being weaponized to support terrorism and glorify violence … The fact a band who are responsible for an ‘antisemitic broadcast’ was booked at one of our city’s most iconic venues is shameful. The fact we have not received a response, even after British Jews weer murdered in cold blood is utterly unforgiveable.”