The Hungarian government banned the Irish rap group KNECAP on Thursday for the next three years to enter its country and accused it of “anti -Semitic hate speech”. KneeCap was to perform at the upcoming Budapest music festival Sziget, informs TASR on the basis of AFP.
“The Hungarian government has decided to ban KneeCap to enter the country and perform at the Sziget festival – referring to (their) hateful speeches and the open praise of Hamas and Hezbollah,” The Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács said on the X platform. Permission of their concert by his words normalized hatred and threatened democratic values. The spokesman added that Hungary is obliged to “protect” his Jewish minority.
AFP prolves that The prohibition in question can be legally challenged within 30 days. KneeCap was supposed to perform at the Budapest Sziget on August 11, one of the largest European music festivals and will attract approximately 400,000 visitors every year.
The musical trio from Belfast, Northern Irish, condemned the decision of the “authoritarian government” of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on social networks. He described it as “scandalous”, politicized and “legally unsubstantiated”. According to the group, it is also another attempt “Silence those who openly talk about the genocide of the Palestinian people”.
Israeli Ambassador to Budapest Maja Kadošová on the contrary praised the Hungarian government for a “clear attitude”. AFP recalls that before the ban on the government, it signed an Internet petition – protesting against KneeCap on Sziget – nearly 300 Hungarian artists, including Oscar -winning film director Lászl Nemes.
On the contrary, the organizers of Sziget regretted the “unprecedented” ban on the government and pointed out that it could harm Hungary on the international scene. Festival chief Támas Kádár said that Sziget does not tolerate “hate speech” in any form, including anti -Semitism, but at the same time “Remains the devoted spirit of freedom of expression” and the organizers will not act as censors.
The KneeCap Group known for the confrontational style and Irish nationalist messages have been in recent months She received on the front pages of the media for sharp criticism of Israel for his military offensive in the Gaza Strip. However, it denies that it would support violence or prohibited groups.
She performed with anti -Israeli statements in June at the British music festival Glastonbury, for which she earned extensive criticism, recalls AFP. KneeCap also withdrew festivals in Scotland and Germany this year. However, it is in the program of the French Festival Rock en Seine, where it is to perform 24 August.
Although the group denies any support of terrorism, its singer Liam O’Hanna, acting under the nickname Mo Chara, is The accused of supporting the prohibited organization and in August is to come before the London court. The case is related to an incident in which last year at a concert in London He pulled out the flag of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah movement and chanted “Long live Hamas, let him live Hezbollah”.
AFP recalls that Hungary is one of the closest allies of Israel in the EU and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ordered the prohibition of propalestinian rallies after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel 7 October 2023.
