This year’s Glastonbury Festival – attended by around 200,000 people, has become a symbol of a wider and deeply troubling trend, another platform for anti-Israel hostility. Flags, chants, jerseys, and even on-stage incitement – most notably from Bob Vylan, who shouted “Death to the IDF” – were met not with rebuke, but with cheering crowds.
In just five minutes, I found countless images posted across X (Twitter) — evidence of the hostility that spilled openly through the festival grounds. Perhaps most disturbing was how eagerly it was welcomed by the crowds.
What we’re witnessing is a spiritual darkness, and it’s being widely embraced without question. Glastonbury has become yet another stage for equipping the masses with an unbalanced, unjustified hatred toward Israel. For many, this isn’t rooted in genuine understanding or informed conviction, but in socially accepted indoctrination. It’s become fashionable to hate Israel – no history, no nuance, no truth required.
As Christians who love the God of Israel and His people, we must understand this moment for what it is. We are not just witnessing anti-Zionism or pro-Palestinian activism, we are watching as ancient hatred is repackaged for a new generation. It spreads like wildfire across music, media, education, politics, and even churches. Antisemitism, cloaked in activism, is on the march again.
What Does “Free Palestine” Really Mean?
It is right to seek justice and dignity for all people – including those living within Gaza, but let’s be honest: what does “Free Palestine” mean today? From what are they seeking freedom?
- From Israeli governance?
- From Jewish people living among them?
- From the very presence of the Jewish nation in the Middle East?
Israel, a nation smaller than Wales, is the only democracy in the region. It is home to Jews, Arabs, Christians, Druze, and Muslims, all living side by side. And yet the rallying cry “Free Palestine” often reveals itself not as a call for co-existence, but for elimination, a desire to wipe away the Jewish presence altogether.
We must ask: Free Palestine from what… or from whom?
Jerusalem: A Heavy Stone
This growing hatred should not surprise us. God already warned us:
“On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples.” – Zechariah 12:3
What we are seeing is spiritual. It is demonic. This regurgitated bile against Israel is ancient hatred resurrected in a modern costume. The world is aligning itself more and more against the very people whom God chose and the land He promised This has a dramatic impact on Israel and the Jewish People. This hostility is not abstract. It has consequences:
- Jewish students in universities are threatened.
- Families in Israel live under the fear of rockets, boycotts, and delegitimisation.
- The global Jewish diaspora is feeling the squeeze of rising antisemitism once again.
It isolates. It dehumanises. And all the while, it grows—unchecked by the silence of too many, including those within the Church.
How Should Christians Respond?
We cannot be silent. We must be those who pray, who speak, and who stand.
🙏 How to Pray:
- Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Ask God to bless and protect Israel’s leaders, her borders, her people.
- Pray for Jewish and Arab believers in Israel, that they would shine the light of Yeshua in unity and truth.
- Pray against the spirit of antisemitism – that the Church would not tolerate what God hates.
- Pray for truth to rise up in media and culture, and for bold Christian voices to speak with clarity and courage.
🕊️ Speak the Truth
- Call out hatred when you see it, even when it’s veiled in slogans or pop culture – We can easily do this on social media.
- Educate others about the reality of Israel – the democracy, the diversity, the biblical significance.
- Refuse to be silent. Refuse to be swayed by the crowd.
This Is a Spiritual Battle
You’re not imagining it. That spiritual heaviness, that growing discomfort, that sense of something dark pressing in – it’s real. Israel is not perfect – but she is prophetic. When the world turns against her, we must turn toward her, in prayer, in love, and in solidarity.
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet…” – Isaiah 62:1
The God who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Let us PRAY!
