🛑 We call on Way Out West to cancel Kneecap’s appearance – now.
Way Out West is one of Scandinavia’s most high-profile music festivals, held annually in Gothenburg, Sweden, attracting tens of thousands of visitors and major international artists. The festival claims to stand for inclusion, equality, and progress. But this year, it risks undermining those values completely.
The Irish rap group Kneecap, currently scheduled to perform, is not controversial for their sound – but for their open support of terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. One of the band members, known as “Mo Chara”, has been formally charged under UK anti-terror laws after waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert. In another performance, the group chanted “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah” – glorifying organizations whose charter includes the destruction of the Jewish people.
This is not about free speech. This is not about protest. This is the public glorification of antisemitic terrorist groups – on a European stage.
đź“© That is why the European Jewish Association, together with our Senior Advisor and former MEP David Lega, has sent a formal letter to the festival organizer, Luger, demanding that Kneecap be removed from the lineup.
Across Europe, other festivals – including Glastonbury (UK) and Southside (Germany) – have already chosen to drop the group after public outcry. We ask Sweden to show the same moral clarity.
🎤 Music should never be a vehicle for hate.
Hosting Kneecap legitimizes antisemitism and glorifies violence against Jews. It sends a chilling message to Jewish communities in Sweden and beyond: that hate is welcome, as long as it has a beat.
We urge Way Out West to live up to its values and do the right thing.
Drop Kneecap. Now.
