'Why are you only interested now': Nova survivor questions Glastonbury crowd who chanted 'death, death to the IDF'
A woman who survived the Nova festival attack on October 7 2023 has told LBC how she no longer feels safe at festivals and has questioned the intentions of the crowd at Glastonbury who chanted "death, death to the IDF".
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Natalie Sanandaji has slammed the chant, led by Bob Vylan vocalist Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, saying these are not just words, as "these words lead to violence".
Ms Sanandaji told LBC's Shelagh Fogarty: "To see this happen at Glastonbury just reminds me again that I don't feel safe on the dance floor anymore.
"I feel that every time I think to go to an international festival that I might be risking my life all over again."
She said: "Unfortunately, I, along with many other Nova survivors, do not feel safe at music festivals since October 7. Hamas turned the dance floor into a war zone."
Read more: Trump 'considers canceling Bob Vylan's US visas' following 'death to the IDF' Glastonbury chant
Asked what she would say to the people in the crowd who chanted along calling for death to the IDF, Ms Sanandaji questioned where their support for the Palestinian people has come from.
She said: "I guess what I would say to them is where were you before October 7?
"If this was really about your desire to care for the Palestinian people, for the people of Gaza, where were you before October 7?
"Why, why are you only interested now after Jews were massacred?"
She added: "So why death to the IDF? Why is it not okay for the IDF to protect their people after their people were massacred? Why is the IDF held to a different standard than every other army in the world?"
Ms Sanandaji, who was born and raised in New York, said she doesn't even feel safe in her home city anymore.
"It's been very hard to feel safe anywhere these days," she sad.
The BBC has since expressed regret at not pulling its live-stream of Bob Vylan's performance at the West Holts stage on Saturday, saying the “antisemitic sentiments” expressed by the group were “utterly unacceptable”.
Following the performance, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer criticised the chants as “appalling hate speech” and on Monday broadcasting regulator Ofcom said it is “very concerned” about the live stream.
Bob Vylan, who formed in Ipswich in 2017, have released four albums addressing issues to do with racism, masculinity and class.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Vylan said: “Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.
“As we grow older and our fire starts to possibly dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.”