I’ve never been to Glastonbury. As more of a heavy metal girl, it’s not really my music scene and, frankly, I don’t believe in camping. Did it once. Not happening again.
That said, I do quite enjoy watching the festival from the comfort of my own home. There are always some bands I already like performing and you can discover some exciting news artists too. Frankly, it’s hard to avoid. The coverage tends to dominate almost every aspect of the BBC and it is well underway for this year.
Almost every Jewish music lover I know has been dreading this weekend for weeks
Unfortunately, but entirely predictably, Glastonbury is set to be an anti-Jewish, anti-Israel hatefest, with Palestinian flags and bile-filled rants galore. Even before the first artists took to the Pyramid Stage, I received a video from a friend that showed people at Worthy Farm dancing around and singing ‘free Palestine’. I’ve also seen some merchandise featuring a bulldozer, body bags and an Israeli flag. There is even a Palestine museum on site.
That this is all being done at a music festival, after Hamas massacred so many at the Nova Festival on 7 October, is an utterly grotesque irony. One that is clearly lost on those partaking in such behaviour and feeling pleased with themselves for doing so at ‘Glasto’.
It made me want to keep the TV off and not watch any of the coverage, but I refuse to let the bullies win. So, with some trepidation, I headed to iPlayer and turned on the dedicated Glastonbury streaming channel. My fears were confirmed within seconds.
The first thing I saw was a giant Palestinian flag – almost every subsequent shot featured at least one as well, as the flag wavers placed themselves strategically to get on air. Playing on stage was CMAT, a singer who has already pulled out of playing Latitude Festival because it is sponsored by Barclays and the bank has allegedly increased its investment in arms firms that trade with Israel.
Elsewhere, U2 singer Bono’s son has performed and a friend on site told me that he dedicated a song to the ‘people of Palestine’. It will surely not be the last we see over the weekend.
People are, of course, entitled to their views, however misguided they may be. What is not OK is creating an environment so hostile that almost every Jewish music lover I know has been dreading this weekend for weeks, knowing what was about to be broadcast across our screens by the BBC.
Missing out on a major cultural event or watching a sea of hate is not a great or fair choice for Jews to have to face. Why should we have to sit around waiting for some smug performer to say something ill-informed or even anti-Semitic? How has it got to the point where you need to Google and check every artist’s view on a foreign war before deciding whether or not to take in their set?
Sorry to break it to you Rod Stewart, but Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t going to change his approach to Gaza because you claim that ‘what Netanyahu is doing to the Palestinians is exactly what happened to the Jews’. Just play ‘Maggie May’ instead.
And then there is Kneecap. The now infamous Northern Irish rap trio’s performances have caused such concern that counter-terror police reviewed footage of them. One band member found himself in court on a terror charge. He will return in August after being granted unconditional bail. Thankfully, the BBC has decided not to show their set on the West Holts Stage, which is likely to take place in front of one of the biggest crowds of the whole week.
It is exhausting for Jews to have to constantly approach events like Glastonbury with such a sense of foreboding, but it’s the circumstances we have found ourselves in for 20 months now. Saying ‘well don’t watch it then’ is not an acceptable answer. No minority should be forced out of enjoying the arts, whether that is in person or on television, because they fear intimidation or abuse. And make no mistake, waving giant Palestinian flags on national TV is intimidating. It’s meant to be.
It would be nice if, just for once, performers and audience members alike could put down their flags and Keffiyehs and just worry about the music. Instead, I’ll be watching Glastonbury slightly on edge, and remembering all those that went to the Nova festival and never came back.
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