Irish-language hip-hop trio Kneecap, known for their uncompromising position on both Irish and Palestinian liberation, are currently facing a co-ordinated attack by Zionist groups and their apologists. The controversy began after their recent performance at the Coachella festival, where they publicly condemned the United States for its central role in supporting Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.
During the set, the following messages were displayed on stage:
‘Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.
FUCK ISRAEL, FREE PALESTINE.’
The crowd erupted in support, cheering and chanting ‘Free, free Palestine!’
Zionist outrage and familiar smears
Unsurprisingly, the Zionist lobby and its sympathisers responded with outrage. Accusations of anti-Semitism and support for terrorism followed – tired, baseless claims weaponised by online trolls to obscure the violent, racist nature of Zionism. Kneecap are no strangers to this. Since forming in 2017, they’ve been a constant target of reactionary unionist politicians in the Six Counties for their unapologetic Republican message. Rather than back down, Kneecap have repeatedly turned these attacks into art. Their song Get Your Brits Out satirises media hysteria and their antagonistic relationship with figures in the Democratic Unionist Party.
New level of state repression
This time, however, the backlash has gone beyond the usual DUP Twitter accounts. Following the Coachella performance, footage surfaced from gigs in England allegedly showing a band member saying ‘Up Hezbollah, up Hamas’ – two organisations proscribed by the British state. Another clip appears to show a member saying ‘Kill your local MP’. Both videos are now under investigation by the British Counter Terrorism Police.
Kneecap issued a statement in response, condemning what they described as a ‘co-ordinated smear campaign’ based on ‘elaborate distortions and falsehoods’. They reaffirmed their stance in support of Palestinian liberation, stating: ‘Our only concern is the Palestinian people — the 20,000 murdered children and counting. The young people at our gigs see through the lies. They stand on the side of humanity and justice. And that gives us great hope.’
Politicians join the chorus
Condemnation from the British establishment followed swiftly. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip branded their message ‘evil’ and called for Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance to be cancelled. Scottish First Minister John Swinney echoed these sentiments, claiming the group had ‘crossed a line’ and demanding their removal from Glasgow’s TRNSMT festival. DUP MP Sammy Wilson – infamous even within Irish Loyalist circles – also weighed in, calling the band the ‘musical wing of Sinn Féin’ (don’t laugh).
A targeted campaign amid rising success
The timing of this backlash is no coincidence. Kneecap have just sold out a US-wide tour—an enormous success, especially for an Irish-language act. Meanwhile, their shows across Britain and Europe are being cancelled, particularly in Germany, where pro-Palestinian solidarity is being aggressively criminalised by the state. Online Zionist trolls have succeeded in drawing the British state into their smear campaign. Their well-worn tactic taking speech out of context and demanding state censorship has again proven effective. This method is all too familiar to us in the Revolutionary Communist Group, as our comrades in the SOAS 2 case continue to face repression for nothing more than standing with the Palestinian people.
Artists stand in solidarity
In response to the Zionist lobby’s attempt of cancellation, artists rallied together in support of freedom of speech and expression. An open letter stating simply ‘We stand for freedom of expression’, signed by artists such as Massive Attack, Pulp, Fontaines DC, and Christy Moore was circulated. Artists also made individual statements, circulated on social media. Massive Attack released a statement, which included the lines ‘Kneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story’, and ‘Solidarity with all artists with the moral courage to speak out against Israeli war crimes and the ongoing persecution and slaughter of the Palestinian people.’
Exposing British double standards
These attacks highlight a deeper truth: the British state, in lockstep with Zionist forces, is terrified of the growing strength and popularity of the Palestinian liberation movement. Instead of covering the ongoing genocide carried out by the Israeli state – with Britain’s full diplomatic, military, and political support – the British state and its apologists in the bourgeois media have chosen to vilify artists and activists for speaking out. Worse still is the brazen double standard on display. Kneecap are now being investigated under British terror laws, yet figures like Israeli Foreign Secretary Gideon Sa’ar – a key player in Israeli war crimes – can enter Britain freely and with impunity. Sa’ar receives the full protection of the British state, while artists who speak out against war and genocide are criminalised. This is what passes for British ‘justice’: one law for warmongers and war criminals, another for working-class artists and activists. Solidarity with Kneecap.
Odhrán O’Flaherty
