Pro-Israel organisation urges Canadian government to deny KNEECAP and Bob Vylan entry to the country

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a pro-Israel advocacy organisation, has announced that it is appealing to the Canadian government to ban KNEECAP and Bob Vylan from entering and performing in Canada.

In June, CIJA reportedly wrote to the Canadian ministers of public safety and immigration to demand that they deny the two acts entry to Canada over statements they made at their Glastonbury performances.

"I respectfully urge your offices to review the admissibility of the individuals involved with Kneecap and Bob Vylan and to assess whether their presence in Canada aligns with our country’s legislation around hate speech," wrote vice-president of government relations David Cooper in the letter.

"Performers who glorify terrorism or incite hatred to enter Canada and perform here would send a deeply troubling signal."

CIJA said their performances violated "Canadian hate speech laws" and went against Canadians' "core values." On its website, CIJA urged supporters to write to the government in favour of the ban.

At Glastonbury, KNEECAP led a 'fuck Keir Starmer' chant in response to the UK Prime Minister's opposition to their presence at the festival, as well as chants in support of Palestine. Bob Vylan led a chant of “death, death to the IDF" in reference to the Israel Defence Forces.

As a result, the Avon and Somerset Police publicly announced that they had launched a criminal investigation into video and audio of both artists' sets. KNEECAP's investigation was recently ended, though Bob Vylan's continues.

On June 30, the U.S. Department of State revoked Bob Vylan's entry visas ahead of their planned North American tour. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau took to social media to call their Glastonbury performance a "hateful tirade," adding that "foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country."

The same day, Anthony Housefather, a Canadian MP from the Liberal Party, praised the U.S. for the decision and suggested Canada should do the same for both Bob Vylan and KNEECAP.

"To me, neither of these performers…should be admissible to Canada, and they should be refused should any request for entry happen," said Housefather in an interview earlier this month.

"It's clear we need certainty that they can't enter the country to incite hatred in Canada."

Matthew Krupovich, spokesperson for Canadian Immigration Minister Lena Diab, said the government is unable to offer comment on individual cases due to privacy laws.

"Each case is assessed individually," Krupovich said.

"Entry to Canada may be refused for a number of reasons, including concerns related to security, human or international rights violations, or criminal activity."

KNEECAP are set to perform in Toronto on October 14 and 15 and Vancouver on October 22 and 23. Bob Vylan have no shows scheduled in Canada. At the time of writing, no shows have been cancelled.