Starmer sought legal action against punk band Bob Vylan for chanting ‘Death to the IDF!’ Yet four months later, he pressures police to allow Israeli football hooligans into the UK to shout ‘Death to the Arabs!’
June 2025: The government led by Keir Starmer calls on police to investigate the punk group Bob Vylan for allegedly inciting racial hatred and breaching public order after they shouted “Death, death to the IDF!” during their Glastonbury Festival performance.
At that point, the IDF, Israel’s military force, had already caused the deaths and serious injuries of over 200,000 Palestinians in Gaza, with thousands more casualties buried beneath the rubble. This assessment is shared by the United Nations, all leading human rights groups—including Israeli organizations—and the International Association of Genocide Scholars, all of whom have recognized Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocidal.
Lisa Nandy, the UK’s sports and culture secretary, denounces the IDF-directed chant—and the BBC’s accidental broadcast of it—as “appalling and unacceptable.” Keir Starmer himself labels the chant as “appalling hate speech.” The consensus in media and Westminster is that Bob Vylan and another band, Kneecap, should never have been provided “a platform” by Glastonbury or the BBC. The chant is widely framed as antisemitic by mainstream commentators.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration revokes a visa for Bob Vylan to perform in the U.S., a decision that Starmer’s government chooses not to challenge.
October 2025: West Midlands police reveal plans to prohibit Tel Aviv Maccabi supporters from attending an upcoming Birmingham match against Aston Villa due to anticipated violence. Tel Aviv’s fanbase is infamous for racist and violent conduct both domestically and abroad.
Almost a year prior, violent riots erupted in Amsterdam incited by Tel Aviv fans—many currently serving or veterans of the IDF—after their defeat by local team Ajax. At the stadium and on the streets, chants of “Death to the Arabs” and “There are no more schools in Gaza because we killed all the kids!” were shouted.
The West buries a genocide – by making victims of Israel’s football thugs.
My latest article on why western politicians and the media were so keen to whip up yet another invented antisemitism furore, this time in Amsterdam:https://t.co/l9BYO4EDEw
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) November 11, 2024
Although Tel Aviv fans clearly instigated the Amsterdam disturbances, much of it captured on video, Dutch and British officials and media initially portrayed the Tel Aviv supporters as victims—until overwhelming evidence disproved that narrative. For instance, Britain’s then-foreign secretary David Lammy swiftly tweeted: “I utterly condemn these abhorrent acts of violence and stand with Israeli and Jewish people across the world.”
It was these “violent clashes and hate crime offences” in Amsterdam that led West Midlands police to judge the upcoming Europa League match on November 6 as “high risk,” recommending a ban on Tel Aviv fans for security reasons.
Yet Starmer and his cabinet try to resurrect the initial, misleading Amsterdam story, implying that the Tel Aviv hooligans are the ones under threat from Aston Villa fans. They suggest any hostility from Villa supporters stems purely from antisemitism rather than the Tel Aviv fans’ own long history of genocidal slogans and violent acts. They also claim the police ban is surrendering to “antisemitism.”
Starmer himself demands the police overturn their decision. Ed Miliband, energy secretary, states: “We cannot have a situation where any area is a no-go area for people of a particular religion or from a particular country.”
However, much like the initial Amsterdam controversy, Starmer’s version quickly unravels. On Sunday, violent riots force Israeli football authorities to cancel a derby between Maccabi and another Tel Aviv club.
Key points:
1. The Aston Villa match should not have become a police responsibility. This situation arose only because Tel Aviv Maccabi is permitted to compete in European tournaments—a privilege Israeli teams should have lost long ago, similar to Russia’s ban. Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza far surpasses any actions by Moscow in Ukraine. The presence of Tel Aviv fans in the UK is solely due to their team’s participation.
2. If Starmer and his ministers truly believed a British punk band deserved prosecution for chanting “Death to the IDF!”, why are they now trying to reverse a police ban to welcome foreign fans who openly proclaim genocidal slogans (“Death to the Arabs!”) and are likely to harass and attack Muslim and Arab communities in Birmingham? Why does the government prioritize giving foreigners platforms for racial hatred, while suppressing British citizens like Bob Vylan whom they accuse of spreading hate?
It’s important to note that Bob Vylan’s aggressive language targeted a foreign, violent army rather than any local group. Their rhetoric was symbolic—a punk-style protest against the world’s most powerful military—and posed no real threat.
In contrast, Tel Aviv fans are capable of turning their violent words into actual deeds, both abroad and on British soil.
Some are active or former members of the Israeli military responsible for devastating nearly every school in Gaza and participating in the killing of over 20,000 Palestinian children—figures identified even before debris is cleared.
Moreover, in Birmingham, these fans may enact their violent threats by targeting anyone who appears Muslim or Arab. This risk to public safety was a key factor behind West Midlands police’s decision to ban them. Why would Starmer fight against a measure designed to prevent real harm from foreign hooligans directed at UK residents? Why prioritize the rights of these violent foreigners over the safety and good race relations of British society?
3. Starmer’s government repeatedly mislabels legitimate police decisions as “antisemitic.” Within the British political and media elite’s mindset, is there anyone left outside their ranks who isn’t deemed “antisemitic”?
The logic used to define antisemitism here is inverted. Racist and violent Israeli football fans do not speak for Jews or even for all Israelis. Conversely, refusing to host aggressive, hateful sports fans is a matter of public safety, not prejudice. Yet Starmer’s attempt to defend violent foreign fans shouting “Death to the Arabs!” solely because they are Jewish is equally antisemitic and Islamophobic.
This represents a deplorable form of racism disguised as anti-racism. By cynically exploiting antisemitism accusations, Starmer undermines genuine anti-racists and fuels the dangerous myth of Jewish exceptionalism that has historically justified persecution and genocide. He is fully aware of this.
4. Although politicians often call for an end to racism in football, the Starmer administration is effectively normalizing genocidal hatred by welcoming Tel Aviv fans chanting “Death to the Arabs!” in the UK. If such virulent racism is granted free rein for Tel Aviv supporters, why not extend the same liberties to British clubs displaying similar behavior?
If police are compelled to reverse their ban on Tel Aviv Maccabi fans, what precedent would that set—both practically and rhetorically—for other violent groups?
5. Starmer leverages accusations of antisemitism purely for political gain, unrelated to genuine concerns for British Jews’ well-being. This pattern is longstanding and not unique to him. The British establishment utilizes “antisemitism” as a weapon against any threat to its grip on power.
Over the past five years, Starmer deployed this tactic to remove Jeremy Corbyn, a rare democratic socialist figure, from Labour leadership.
After Corbyn’s ousting, Starmer wielded accusations of antisemitism to purge left-wing party members—contributing to Labour’s record low poll ratings.
He has also targeted student organizations highlighting university complicity in funding Israel’s genocide.
Starmer banned Palestine Action, a group protesting factories in Britain supplying arms for use in Gaza, seeking to pressure the government to halt arms sales.
He has pursued ordinary peaceful citizens carrying placards supporting Palestine Action.
Now, having cornered himself ethically through conflating anti-racism with antisemitism, Starmer goes so far as to implicitly accuse police of antisemitism for trying to shield British communities from the spillover of Israel’s genocidal violence.
Original article: www.jonathan-cook.ne
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