THE revolution will not be televised. The late great jazz musician, singer and poet Gil Scott Heron’s satirical spoken word poem held real resonance at this year’s Glastonbury festival, which saw the censoring by the BBC of pro-Palestine acts who dared to speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Irish rap trio Kneecap were silenced by the broadcaster even before they took to the stage, following its decision not to livestream their set. This came after rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh was controversially charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig last year.

He was released on unconditional bail just a week before the festival and was able to perform with his band at a packed out West Holts stage amid a sea of Palestinian flags and chants of ”free, free Palestine” and ”fuck Keir Starmer.”

Kneecap gave credit to Glastonbury festival organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, who ignored pressure from the right and the Labour Prime Minister to pull the band from the line-up altogether. ”The pressure that that family was under and they stood strong,” Mr O hAnnaidh told the crowd. ”Fair play to them.”

Their raucous rap-rave set included Better Way To Live, Get Your Brits Out and HOOD.

Embarrassingly for the BBC, it took Welsh vegan cafe owner Helen Wilson to take matters into her own hands by live-streaming Kneecap’s set on social media site TikTok from her phone. Her recording was viewed nearly two million times and she was hailed as ”a hero of free speech.” Kneecap even spotted her livestream and offered her free tickets to any of their upcoming gigs by way of thanks.

British rap punk duo Bob Vylan’s set on the same stage has also been censored, with the BBC pulling it from iPlayer after Bobby Vylan led chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF.”

In the face of accusations of anti-semitism the group released a statement via social media. Part of the statement, posted on Instagram, said: ”We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs, or any other race or group of people.

”We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use ’unnecessary lethal force’ against innocent civilians waiting for aid.
 

”A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza.”

This sentiment was raised in a breathtakingly beautiful headline set at the Park Stage by Anohni and the Johnsons, currently on her Mourning The Great Barrier Reef tour that warns of the climate devastation to the planet's coral and the reef dying out.

You couldn’t hear a pin-drop as she delivered the special performance draped in white to a backdrop of oceanic videos of coral and sea life, while tearful marine scientists warned of being plunged into ”a mass extinction the world has never seen the likes of and it’s going to happen much faster than anybody's been speaking about.”

During the encore, Anohni returns with her face is covered in a shroud to sing Drone Bomb Me.

Telling the crowd of her recent visit to the Great Barrier Reef, she said: ”The one thing that the coral reef looked like to me when I was there a few weeks ago was the city of Gaza. The coral looked like the city of Gaza.”

Her set was arguably the most powerful and emotive that Worthy Farm has ever seen.

Support for Palestine Action also took centre stage at the festival. MPs and peers are expected to debate legislation this week, introduced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation. If approved, the ban could come into force by Friday. The announcement followed Palestine Action protesters recently spraying two RAF war planes with red paint at Brize Norton.

Green peer Jenny Jones vowed to vote against proscribing Palestine Action in the Lords at a packed audience at Glastonbury’s Speakers Forum. She warned that there would be an ”outcry” if the government proscribes them.

Palestine Action activist Francesca Nadin and Youth Demand’s Sam Holland joined Baronness Jones for the debate against the government’s draconian anti-protest laws. Ms Nadin, who spend nine months in jail for dismantling parts for weapons and fighter jets used by Israel to commit genocide, said: ”We are not terrorists, they are terrorists.”

Kneecap member DJ Provai, who wears an Irish tricolour balaclava, also wore a “we are all Palestine Action” T-shirt during their set.

And singer-songwriter Nadine Shah read out a passionate open letter during her set on the Other Stage against the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action. The statement says: “Palestine Action is intervening to stop a genocide, it is acting to save life.

”We deplore the government’s decision to proscribe it, labelling non-violent direct action as terrorism is an abuse of language and an attack on democracy.”

The open letter has been signed by musicians Paul Weller, Massive Attack’s Robert del Naja, Brian Eno and US artist Reggie Watts, as well as actors Tilda Swinton, Steve Coogan and Billy Howle.

Avon and Somerset Police have confirmed that they have launched a criminal investigation into both Kneecap and Bob Vylan's performances, saying: “This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our inquiries are at an early stage.

“The investigation will be evidence-led and will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes.”

During Kneecap’s set, Mr O hAnnaidh made a crucial point that underlines the zionist vs anti-semitism debate but in the context of British colonialism and oppression in Ireland. He said: “We fucking love the English people, it’s the English government we can’t stand.”

The same distinction has and must continue to be made in the context of Israel’s colonialism and genocide of Palestine and Gaza. Both these bands and the vast majority of right-minded, un-bigoted pro-Palestinians are clearly not targeting Jews and Israelis but Israel’s government. Good luck to the police in finding evidence to the contrary.