Who are Kneecap? Northern Irish rappers behind Coachella anti-Israel protest previously led pro-Hezbollah chant - The Jewish Chronicle

The Irish-language rap trio who projected the slogan “F*** Israel” during their set at the Coachella music festival have a documented history of anti-Israel activism, including suggesting support for Hezbollah, a terror group banned in the UK.

Kneecap, made up of DJ Próvaí, Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap, all from the heavily Catholic area of west Belfast, have increasingly used their platform to promote anti-Israel messaging. Their latest performance, at one of America’s most high-profile music festivals, included the projection of slogans such as “F*** Israel, Free Palestine” and claims that Israel is committing “genocide.” They also accused the United States of funding Israeli “war crimes.”

The trio’s anti-Israel activism intensified following the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7, in which approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered – the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust. Nearly 400 young Israelis were murdered at Nova music festival during the attacks.

Just one day later, on October 8, Kneecap posted an image of themselves holding a Palestinian flag alongside the message: “Solidarity with the Palestinian struggle,” and a clenched fist emoji.

In November 2023, during a show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, Kneecap led the crowd in chanting “Ooh ah Hezbollah.” Video from the event showed a Hezbollah flag on stage.

Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. The Shia group is funded by Iran and has a long record of attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets.

One Kneecap member, known for wearing a balaclava with the Irish tricolour, has posed with a copy of The Voice of Hezbollah, a published collection of speeches by the group’s late leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has described Jews as “enemies of God” and called for the destruction of Israel.

The statement projected on stage by Kneecap at Coachella also said "F*** Israel"[Missing Credit]

During their Coachella performance, frontman Mo Chara said: “Palestinians have nowhere to go. This is their f***ing home, and they’re being bombed from the sky. If you’re not calling it a genocide, what the f*** are you calling it?”

The group then led the audience in a chant of “Free, free Palestine.”

After their performance, the Tribe of Nova, a group made up of the producers and survivors from Nova Music festival, said the messaging “deeply hurt many in our community – an affront made even more painful in light of the massacre that took place at the Nova Music Festival on October 7.”

A statement from the Tribe of Nova inviting Kneecap to an exhibition about the horrors of October 7[Missing Credit]

They implored the Irish band to visit the Nova Exhibition, and “experience first hand the stories of those who were murdered, those who survived, and those who are still being held hostage. Not to shame or silence-but to connect. To witness. To understand.”

“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.”

The Tribe of Nova added that Coachella founder, Paul Tollett, had visited their exhibition in Los Angeles. “He sat with us, cried with us, and advocated for us.”

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