Mick Hartley

It wasn't all Bob Vylan and Kneecap. From the JC:

Glastonbury bills itself as a celebration of peace and unity but while tens of thousands danced to headline acts, a different kind of performance unfolded on the festival’s political fringes.

In one of two appearances, Palestine Action activists were invited onto the “Shangri La” stage on Thursday, where they were met with whoops and cheers from the crowd – even as ministers attempt to designate it a terrorist organisation following an attack on RAF Brize Norton, which was claimed by the group.

Palestine Action also distributed dozens of free branded t-shirts and their events drew sizeable crowds….

Youth Demand Action’s David Currey, who was arrested after being accused of attempting to storm the stage at this year’s Eurovision during Israel’s performance, appeared at a separate event at the Speakers Forum tent on Saturday.

During an audience Q&A, one man warned that more Palestine Action activists would likely end up behind bars. Though he did not say what actions were being planned, he told the crowd: “People are going to get long prison sentences.”

He added that activists would need to support “comrades behind bars….

Currey told the crowd: “It is not easy, we have faced massive repression and this has accelerated hugely in the last week with what the government has done to Palestine Action.

He cited assassinated PFLP spokesperson Ghassan Kanafani to argue that “Zionism is the arm of Western capitalist imperial” and described “resistance against the Israeli occupation as being part of a broader anti-imperialist struggle.

“We need to take inspiration from that and attempt to replicate it here in the UK to end our government’s complicity,” he said.

He went on to reference the First Intifada, saying: “Despite facing the worst colonial violence possible, despite facing genocide, the Palestinians have remained determined to protect their people, their land and their culture."

The level of fantasy is just off the wall.

“They’ve done mass non-violent uprisings like the First Intifada and they’ve also taken arms. But what they have not done is roll over despite the power of what they are facing, which is Western capitalist imperialism, arguably the biggest force in the world.”

Currey claimed Britain had been “complicit” from the start, “from the Balfour Declaration all the way to the modern day where we continue to sell arms to Israel.

“We have been not just complicit but an active participant in the genocide in Palestine. Therefore, as British people, we have a responsibility to resist, to stand up against our government and to demand an end to complicity in this genocide,” he said.

He concluded by urging for “a clear anti-capitalist revolutionary struggle”.

Elsewhere, a panel hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) brought together the group’s director Ben Jamal, The Crown actor Khalid Abdalla, Guardian columnist Owen Jones and climate activist Tori Tsui.

Jones launched a furious attack on the British establishment, claiming: “Every day, every war crime under the sun is committed in full view of the world and our media gaslight us and our politicians continue to arm that state.”

He said he believed “passionately” that the legitimacy of “our elite” was over, and predicted their fall from grace. “We have to sweep them away. You cannot be complicit in a genocide and expect your reputation, your career or, in many cases, your freedom to remain.”…

Once an outspoken member of the Labour Party, Jones turned on his former political home, describing it as run by “soulless ghouls” and claiming that Sir Keir Starmer was “more dishonest than Boris Johnson”.

He went on: “We’re going through the biggest assault on free speech since the height of McCarthyism.”

In an hour-long appearance, Jones accused Israel of having detonated “about six Hiroshima bombs worth of explosions” on Gaza. He declared: “No crime in history has been so documented as it happened.”

He labelled Palestinians in Israeli prisons as “hostages” and alleged that Israeli forces were committing “industrial scale rape”.

“How depraved would you have to be to be supporting this?” he asked.

How depraved would you have to be to come out with this shit? And how obsessively Jew-hating?

At another festival event, Palestine Pulse performed “Grandchildren of the Nakba”, during which Palestinian flags and keffiyehs were distributed for free.

Meanwhile, a quieter event titled “Action for Hope from Israel and Palestine” drew a small audience of around 20 people. The session featured Palestinian peace activist Hamze Awawde and Israeli social justice campaigner Rona Lotan, who both spoke about the need to end the war in Gaza and build bridges for peace.

Peace? Who cares about peace when there's Jew-hatred to be stirred up?

Young people going on about the "anti-capitalist revolutionary struggle” is part of the generational landscape, but when it gets mixed up with a fixation on Israel and the Jews it gets very ugly very quickly.

Bob Vylan and Kneecap were just the tip of a nasty iceberg.