so the bbc and the uk government will be apologising to kneecap and bob vylan right?
this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
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Famously, Bob Vylan and Kneecap both got in trouble for chanting 'Recognise the Palestinian statehood at a time and in a fashion that maximises the chances of a peaceful two-state solution'. It was a bit of a mouthful, granted.
Seriously, though. AFAIK, neither the BBC nor the UK government had anything much to do with Kneecap's statements, which for the record were (my italics):
"Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people," followed by: "It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes," and a final screen added: "[Expletive] Israel. Free Palestine." During the performance, band member Mo Chara said: "The Irish not so long ago were persecuted at the hands of the Brits, but we were never bombed from the... skies with nowhere to go. The Palestinians have nowhere to go." The band also led the audience in chants of: "Free, free Palestine".
Only the 'Free Palestine' line seems to have much to do with a two-state solution, and then only tangentially. I don't personally think any of what they said is untrue or problematic in any way - but it also has nothing to do with the BBC or the UK Government.
As for Bob Vylan, the specific phrase that caused controversy was 'Death to the IDF' - again, nothing to do with a two-state solution. The main censoring force there was the BBC, which has nothing to do with whether the UK Government recognises Palestine. Again, for me, while a much more aggressive comment, I don't think this crosses the line of either hate speech or incitement (and I'm right, because they haven't been prosecuted for either - I don't think a case has even been brought). But it's got nothing to do with the government now moving (too slowly and tentatively, IMO) towards recognition of Palestine.