Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap projected an antisemitic message onstage at Coachella this weekend. It read:
Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F*** Israel. Free Palestine.
Terrorists stormed the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Nova was one of the first massacre sites that day. In the early morning, Hamas paraglided into the festival, killing more than 350 partygoers. Terrorists blocked the roads leading out of Nova; one street became known as “murder” road because Hamas slaughtered festival attendees who tried to escape by car. Cars piled up. Hamas rained bullets on them. Israelis recovered almost 900 vehicles from the Nova site, some burned, many shot up.
Those who tried to escape were shot. Those who hid were found and taken hostage. Those who went back to save friends were killed. It was carnage.
“We will dance again” became a slogan for Nova survivors. Festival-goers who escaped with their lives vowed to let music heal them: which is why Kneecap’s display at Coachella was so horrendously tone-deaf.
To their great credit, the Nova community, made up of survivors and activists, invited the band “to visit the Nova Exhibition and experience firsthand the stories of those who were murdered, those who survived, and those who are still being held hostage,” as they said in a statement.
“The Nova community was built on the ideals of peace, freedom, and unity through music. Our festival was a space where people came together — across cultures and beliefs — to celebrate life. That’s why we believe that even in the face of ignorance or provocation, our response must be rooted in empathy, not hate,” they continued. “Healing begins with listening. And we believe that even those who have spoken from a place of anger or misinformation are capable of empathy — if they are willing to see.”
Kneecap, protesters at Columbia University, medical professionals who promise to murder Israeli patients, and more vile antisemites don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. What if it was at Coachella that bloodthirsty terrorists barricaded exits, raped and killed innocent attendees, shot up portable bathrooms as people took shelter in them, kidnapped women, and filmed it all for the world to see?