Kneecap spewed anti-Israel rhetoric on stage at Coachella Saturday — with a “f–k Israel, free Palestine” display and one member of the Irish rap group going on a tirade about the Jewish state’s “genocide” in Gaza.
The group — which openly supported the “Palestinian struggle” a day after the October 7, 2023 massacre at the Nova music festival and posted a book celebrating Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah — performed in front of a backdrop that read, “F–k Israel Free Palestine.”
“They’re bombing them from the skies. If you’re not calling it a genocide, what the f–k are you calling it?” band member Mo Chara said to raucous cheers, while a screen behind the band read, “The US government arms and funds Israel despite their war crimes.”
The West Belfast band, who reportedly call themselves “republican hoods,” waved a yellow Hezbollah flag on stage during a November 2024 London concert.
Nova survivors shared their grief – and outrage – over the “antisemitism” on display.
“It saddens me to see that the dance floor is being used to spread hate and antisemitism. The dance floor is supposed to be a safe place for everyone,” Ofir Amir, Nova music festival co-founder and survivor, told The Post.
Amir, 42, who was shot in his legs on Oct. 7, said it was ironic that the two festivals — Coachella in California and the Nova festival near Gaza’s border — are places for young people of all backgrounds to come together and freely enjoy music.
“As a Nova survivor, it’s devastating to watch the world pick and choose whose lives matter. We were attacked while dancing for peace, just like people dancing at Coachella,” Nova survivor Lee Sasi, who was a Coachella regular, told The Post. “The difference is, when Israelis are targeted, the world stays silent. The hypocrisy is not just painful, it’s dangerous.”
Long Island Nova survivor, Natalie Sanandaji, told The Post that the “silence” from much of the music industry after Oct. 7 was “painful enough.”
“We were attacked and murdered while we were just trying to enjoy life and dance. But antisemitic artists are attacking us all over again,” said the 29-year-old. “Now they are making the dance floors around the world unsafe for Jews or for anyone who stands with the Jewish people.”
The ecstatic reaction from the Coachella crowd, she added, was “basically wishing me dead or that I had died on October 7th rather than survived” and that those 364 deaths were “justified.”
Kneecap’s accusations of genocide counter the revelation last month that the Hamas-led Gaza Ministry of Health lied about the death toll of women and children by Israeli forces. The makeup of the death toll is closer to about 72% men, ages 13 to 55, which would more likely make them members of the terror group.
Watchdog groups tell The Post they tried to warn Coachella owners from platforming the problematic pro-terror band that pushed buttons during the festival’s first weekend.
Kneecap’s live-stream feed was reportedly cut on opening weekend when the band whipped up the crowd to chant anti-Margaret Thatcher rhetoric.
Ari Ingel, executive director of Creative Community for Peace, which helps fight antisemitism in the entertainment industry, told The Post he tried to sound the alarm about the “radical” group to head honchos of the festival’s owners, Goldenvoice and AEG.
“They totally ignored it,” he said, adding that the festival that’s about “bringing everyone together and celebrating life” was allowed to be “hijacked by extremists.”
“And they knew this could happen – clearly, since we alerted them and what they saw week one themselves,” blasted Ingel.
Reps for the band and executives from AEG and Goldenvoice did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Post.
Liora Rez, founder and executive director of StopAntisemitism, slammed Coachella for giving Kneecap a platform.
“Imagine if a thousand terrorists had overrun Coachella – raping, murdering, and mutilating attendees. Imagine if they had taken hundreds of them hostage and tortured them in tunnels, five stories underground,” Rez said. “That’s what happened to the peace-loving Israelis at the Nova festival. That’s who Coachella should feel solidarity with. Instead, they platform and promote disgusting antisemites.”