EJA launches legal action after extremist concert incites mass chants targeting Israelis and glorifying terror.
The European Jewish Association (EJA) has initiated sweeping legal action after a December 2 concert in Brussels where British music duo Bob Vylan openly incited the audience to chant “Death to the IDF” while wearing a t-shirt promoting Samidoun, an organization designated terror-linked in multiple countries.
According to the European Jewish Press, the performance at Ancienne Belgique crossed numerous legal red lines. The duo—Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan—also led the crowd in shouting “Everybody hates the police,” intensifying what the EJA described as a dangerous, coordinated act of radicalization.
On Thursday, the Brussels Court of First Instance authorized an investigation after receiving a complaint jointly filed by Belgian attorney Christophe Boeraeve and EJA legal counsel Adv. Shlomo Dahan. The case will examine a wide range of potential criminal offenses, including:
- Incitement to discrimination, hatred, or violence
- Spread of racial hatred
- Assisting extremist organizations
- Public provocation to commit terrorist acts
- Glorification of terrorism
- Participation in activities of a terrorist organization
- Encouraging offenses against public authorities
The EJA emphasized that in Israel—where service in the IDF is compulsory—calls for the “death of the IDF” are effectively calls for the death of every Israeli citizen and every Jew targeted by Hamas propaganda.
“The fact that thousands of Belgian citizens were incited to chant for the death of the overwhelming majority of Israelis—while also shouting hatred at Belgian police—signals a profound moral failure and a growing security threat,” the organization said.
Boeraeve and Dahan sharply rejected attempts to portray the incident as merely provocative art:
“Criticize Israeli policy as you wish. But leading thousands to call for the death of Israelis is not speech—it is incitement. Belgian law draws a bright line, and this concert crossed it.”
Alongside the criminal complaint, the EJA has filed a formal submission with UNIA, Belgium’s anti-discrimination authority, urging it to take decisive action.
EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin condemned the performance as a deliberate assault on democratic values:
“Freedom of expression is a pillar of democracy. But when performers lead thousands to chant for the death of others—and normalize hostility to law enforcement—a red line has been crossed. Silence is complicity.”
The Brussels incident follows a similar controversy at the Glastonbury Festival in June, where chants of “death, death to the IDF” led to investigations by British police. The fallout was severe:
- Bob Vylan was banned from entering the United States after the State Department revoked their visas.
- Multiple festivals and European venues cancelled their appearances.
- The BBC faced backlash for livestreaming their performance and later issued an apology.
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Israeli Embassy in London condemned the incitement.
Despite the growing outrage, Bobbie Vylan has claimed BBC staff praised the Glastonbury performance, boasting in an interview that “Everyone said it was fantastic… we even went for ice cream afterwards.”
The EJA insists Belgium must respond firmly.
“What happened at Ancienne Belgique is not only a moral collapse,” Rabbi Margolin warned. “It is a direct threat to Jewish communities and to Belgian society as a whole.”The European Jewish Association (EJA) has initiated sweeping legal action after a December 2 concert in Brussels where British music duo Bob Vylan openly incited the audience to chant “Death to the IDF” while wearing a t-shirt promoting Samidoun, an organization designated terror-linked in multiple countries.
According to the European Jewish Press, the performance at Ancienne Belgique crossed numerous legal red lines. The duo—Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan—also led the crowd in shouting “Everybody hates the police,” intensifying what the EJA described as a dangerous, coordinated act of radicalization.
On Thursday, the Brussels Court of First Instance authorized an investigation after receiving a complaint jointly filed by Belgian attorney Christophe Boeraeve and EJA legal counsel Adv. Shlomo Dahan. The case will examine a wide range of potential criminal offenses, including:
- Incitement to discrimination, hatred, or violence
- Spread of racial hatred
- Assisting extremist organizations
- Public provocation to commit terrorist acts
- Glorification of terrorism
- Participation in activities of a terrorist organization
- Encouraging offenses against public authorities
The EJA emphasized that in Israel—where service in the IDF is compulsory—calls for the “death of the IDF” are effectively calls for the death of every Israeli citizen and every Jew targeted by Hamas propaganda.
“The fact that thousands of Belgian citizens were incited to chant for the death of the overwhelming majority of Israelis—while also shouting hatred at Belgian police—signals a profound moral failure and a growing security threat,” the organization said.
Boeraeve and Dahan sharply rejected attempts to portray the incident as merely provocative art:
“Criticize Israeli policy as you wish. But leading thousands to call for the death of Israelis is not speech—it is incitement. Belgian law draws a bright line, and this concert crossed it.”
Alongside the criminal complaint, the EJA has filed a formal submission with UNIA, Belgium’s anti-discrimination authority, urging it to take decisive action.
EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin condemned the performance as a deliberate assault on democratic values:
“Freedom of expression is a pillar of democracy. But when performers lead thousands to chant for the death of others—and normalize hostility to law enforcement—a red line has been crossed. Silence is complicity.”
The Brussels incident follows a similar controversy at the Glastonbury Festival in June, where chants of “death, death to the IDF” led to investigations by British police. The fallout was severe:
- Bob Vylan was banned from entering the United States after the State Department revoked their visas.
- Multiple festivals and European venues cancelled their appearances.
- The BBC faced backlash for livestreaming their performance and later issued an apology.
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Israeli Embassy in London condemned the incitement.
Despite the growing outrage, Bobbie Vylan has claimed BBC staff praised the Glastonbury performance, boasting in an interview that “Everyone said it was fantastic… we even went for ice cream afterwards.”
The EJA insists Belgium must respond firmly.
“What happened at Ancienne Belgique is not only a moral collapse,” Rabbi Margolin warned. “It is a direct threat to Jewish communities and to Belgian society as a whole.”
