It’s troubling to see some public figures use their platforms to simplify one of the most complex and tragic conflicts of our time. Bob Vylan’s statement at Glastonbury - calling Israel’s actions “genocide” and framing the situation as a one-sided crime - reflects a dangerously reductive view of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Words like “genocide” carry enormous historical and moral weight. To apply that term to a war where one side (Hamas) has openly called for the annihilation of the other, and continues to use its own people as human shields, is to flatten centuries of Jewish trauma, erase the ongoing security threats Israel faces, and weaponise language in a way that obscures reality rather than clarifying it.
This isn’t to excuse the suffering in Gaza, nor to dismiss the real and awful toll this conflict takes on innocent civilians. But we must ask: where is the outrage when Hamas fires rockets from schools, hospitals, and apartment blocks - endangering their own people and then using their deaths as a media tool? Why is there silence when children are taught to hate Jews in textbooks, or when Israeli civilians are targeted in their homes?
As for the UK’s arms sales to Israel: it is worth noting that Israel is a democracy, under constant attack from a terror group that rejects every offer of peace and uses foreign aid to build tunnels and buy weapons rather than rebuild infrastructure. Defensive support for Israel isn’t complicity in oppression - it’s a recognition that a sovereign nation has a right to exist and defend its people.
We should always stand for justice, peace, and human dignity; for Palestinians and Israelis alike. But justice must be rooted in truth, not slogans. Condemning Israel without acknowledging the full context, including the genocidal aims of Hamas, the failure of Palestinian leadership, and the double standards in international criticism, isn’t standing for peace. It’s just virtue-signalling dressed as activism.
Posted On: Monday, June 30th, 2025 @ 5:59 pm by Ian Tearle
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