Israel supporters protest at the Kneecap and Fontaines DC concert in Manchester
A group of Israel supporters have launched a protest outside the gig for the Irish rap trio Kneecap in Manchester.
The band are set to play the city’s Wythenshawe Park tonight, August 15th, when a group of supporters for the Israeli regime turned up to protest the major show of solidarity that Kneecap have shown towards the people of Palestine over the course of the current conflict.
Joe Taysom, Far Out’s News Editor, who was on the ground, commented: “Near Wythenshawe Park, a group of pro-Israel protesters gathered to condemn Kneecap performing with Fontaines DC. The group held up signs accusing the Irish band of ‘Jew hatred’, while another sign condemned Hamas and Hezbollah. It was around 40 protestors who had gathered in total”.
It comes after both bands on the bill have been the subject of controversy over their support for the Palestinian cause, to the extent that Manchester City Council considered pulling Kneecap out of the huge gig last month, citing “safety concerns”.
Despite this, the band have been kept on the bill, and are set to embark on their own separate headline UK tour towards the end of this year.
However, this has only marked the latest in a series of incidents that Kneecap have become embroiled in due to their support for Palestine, after the band’s Mo Chara was charged by the Metropolitan Police with a terror offence over alleged support of Hamas and Hezbollah at previous gigs the band put on.
This lead to widespread controversy across the music industry and political spectrum, with a number of public figures calling for Kneecap to be removed from various festival appearances over the course of the summer, while bands such as Fontaines DC have emerged amongst their most prominent supporters.
At this time, Kneecap have not commented publicly on the incident at Wythenshawe Park.
See footage of the protest below.
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