Kneecap ignited some controversy at Coachella 2025 with several highly-charged political statements in support of Palestinian rights, culminating with a screen projection behind them which read: "F--- Israel... Free Palestine". Soon, Sharon Osbourne was calling for their U.S. work visas to be revoked (they have a sold-out U.S. tour scheduled for Fall 2025). A video (see above) from a November 2024 gig in London showed Kneecap's Mo Chara performing with a yellow Hezbollah flag draped around his neck (see above), which he then displayed to the crowd. He stated, "Up Hamas! Up Hezbollah!", and left the stage. British authorities announced they are investigating whether that constituted a crime (support for a banned group). Kneecap subsequently released a statement (see below) clarifying that they did not support Hamas or Hezbollah and that they condemned "all attacks on civilians, always". Nonetheless, some called for them to be removed from the schedule at Glastonbury and other up-coming festivals.
Kneecap is right to support Palestinian rights and compare the Palestinian struggle to the Irish struggle. After all, Ireland has suffered from the exploitation of British imperialism for over 400 years. Ireland is still divided today, with its six NE counties still held by the United Kingdom.
But they were wrong to say, "Up Hamas!, Up Hezbollah!", primarily because these two groups attack civilians as part of their campaign of using political violence to achieve their goals.
In their statement, Kneecap clarified that they do not support Hamas and Hezbollah and do not support attacks on civilians. They also apologized to the families of two British politicians who had been killed and denied inciting violence against Members of Parliament.
British authorities announced Kneecap was being investigated both for supporting banned terrorist groups and calling for violence ("Kill your MP!") against politicians.
It's good that they clarified the record. We want people to learn from their errors.
But stating these things to begin with were misguided.
It's important to remember these are young artists, not political scientists nor seasoned activists. The desire to say controversial, inflammatory, and hyperbolic pronouncements is part of show business. The actor on stage exaggerates for the benefit of those in the cheap seats. He projects to the back rows. An off-hand statement on-stage should not be given the same weight as a well-written essay. I say as long as they learn from their errors and carry on, they will be fine. They are artists, they have a platform, and they have the right to express themselves on politics or any other issue. They also have a responsibility to their audience to be honest and truthful.
Worth noting that in the November video from the London show, Mo Chara has a yellow Hezbollah flag around his neck, which he then displays to the crowd. Why not a red, black, white, and green Palestinian flag instead? Hezbollah is based in Lebanon, not Israel or Palestine, and is comprised principally of members who are Lebanese, not Palestinian.
The most important lesson to learn is that one can support Palestinian rights without supporting extremist, medievalist groups who attack civilians. Opposing American and Israeli policy does not mean we must then automatically and unquestioningly support their opponents in the region - Hamas, Hezbollah, and their supporters Russia and Iran.
I would ask the Palestine advocates in The West to also speak out on wrongs committed in Ukraine, The U.S., Europe, Russia, China, Iran... indeed anywhere human rights are being violated, not just the cause of the season. The extreme suffering in Gaza provides an urgency to finding a peaceful solution to Israel/Palestine, but it is also urgent that we unite to fight climate change, economic injustice, war, poverty, and the empathy crisis. Right now!
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