KNEECAP used their Reading Festival performance for a sharp message: "F*** Netanyahu"
The Irish rap group, known for its staunch anti-Israel views, performed at the Reading Festival in England before a massive crowd, waved Palestinian flags, criticized the British Prime Minister, and chanted: "Free Palestine, f*** Benjamin Netanyahu."
KNEECAP, the Irish rap group known for its staunch anti-Israel views, closed the Reading Festival on Sunday with a highly political performance. According to a report in the Mirror, they used the festival's main slot to attack Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and express support for the Palestinians. The rap trio from West Belfast performed songs from their latest album FENIAN as well as 2024's Fine Art, with a Palestinian flag draped over the DJ booth.
"It's important for us to use this platform for what we believe is the right thing. There are people who aren't very lucky right now, and those are our brothers and sisters in Palestine. As Irish people, we understand displacement, colonialism, and the forced starvation of a population, as we are seeing now in Palestine."
The message ended with a direct call:
"Remember how lucky we all are to be in a field with our best friends and listening to music, and at the same time thinking about our Palestinian brothers and sisters - so f*** Benjamin Netanyahu, and free Palestine!"
The Irish group did not stop at Israel. During the performance, they spoke out against British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, after they claimed he said that a united Ireland was off the table. "So everyone: 'Andy Burnham is a w****r'," they chanted from the stage, and the crowd joined in.
The group arrived at the festival with significant political and legal baggage. Band member Liam Óg O'Hanna, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was accused of displaying a flag in support of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which is defined in the UK as a proscribed organization, during a performance at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on November 21, 2024. The case against him was dismissed last September after Judge Paul Goldspring ruled that the proceedings had been initiated unlawfully, and an appeal by the British prosecution was rejected in March of this year by two High Court judges.
