The State Department on Monday revoked US visas for the two members of the punk-rap duo Bobby Vylan after leading a chant at a UK concert this past weekend against Israel’s Defense Forces.
The group attendees of the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday in chants of “free Palestine” and “death to the IDF,” an appreciation for the Israel Defense Forces.
The group was slated to perform in Boston, New York City and Washington D.C. in the fall, according to The Hill newspaper.
In a statement on X announcing the group’s visas had been revoked, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said, “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.”
Israel’s UK embassy posted on X that “the Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom is deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival.”
Despite backlash, Bobby Vylan posted on Instagram Sunday about the importance of standing up for change with the caption, “I said what I said.”
