LONDON (AP) — Rap-punk duo Bob Vylan on Tuesday rejected claims of antisemitism over onstage comments at the Glastonbury Festival that triggered a police investigation and sparked criticism from politicians, the BBC and festival organizers.
The band said in a statement that it was being “targeted for speaking up” about the war in Gaza.
Police are investigating whether a crime was committed when frontman Bob Vylan led the audience in chants of “Death to the IDF” — the Israel Defense Forces — during the band’s set at the festival in southwest England on Saturday.
The British government called the chants “appalling hate speech” and the BBC said it regretted livestreaming the “antisemitic sentiments.” U.S. authorities revoked the musicians’ visas.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has inflamed tensions around the world, triggering pro-Palestinian protests in many capitals and on college campuses. Israel and some supporters have described the protests as antisemitic, while critics say Israel uses such descriptions to silence opponents.
In a statement on Instagram, Bob Vylan said: “We are not for the death of jews, arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. … A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza.”
Alleging that “we are a distraction from the story,” the duo added: “We are being targeted for speaking up.”
The BBC is under pressure to explain why it did not cut the feed of the performance after the anti-IDF chants. Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said “the airing of vile Jew-hatred” by the BBC was a moment of “national shame.”
“It should trouble all decent people that now, one need only couch their outright incitement to violence and hatred as edgy political commentary, for ordinary people to not only fail to see it for what it is, but also to cheer it, chant it and celebrate it,” he wrote on X.
Avon and Somerset Police said it is investigating Bob Vylan’s performance, along with that by Irish-language hip-hop trio Kneecap, whose pro-Palestinian stance has also attracted controversy. Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh has been charged under Britain’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London last year.
Since the war began in October 2023 with a Hamas attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, Israel has killed more than 56,000 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Bob Vylan performs on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. England, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Bob Vylan perform on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. England, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
PARMA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2026--
Barilla Group has opened applications for the 2026 edition of Good Food Makers, its global open innovation program designed to co-develop and test new innovative solutions with startups and innovators inside real industrial environments.
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Since its launch in 2019, the program has involved more than 1,100 startups from over 50 countries, leading to 26 pilot projects, with over 20 projects currently active thanks to the solutions developed by the program’s alumni. This highlights the program’s role as a concrete platform for industrial scalable innovation.
The 2026 edition comes at a pivotal moment for the company, following the launch of BITE (Barilla Innovation & Technology Experience), the new innovation center dedicated to developing the next generation of food products. Within this inspiring premise, Good Food Makers confirms itself as one of the main levers for research and development and activities of value co-creation for Barilla, thanks to collaborations with startups and innovators.
“Through Good Food Makers, we continue to invest in an open innovation model capable of generating measurable and scalable impact,” said Laurette Defranco, Head of Open Innovation & IP Rights at Barilla. “Collaboration with startups is a key accelerator to test solutions that create value across our entire value chain, from product development to industrial processes and consumer experience.”
Developed in partnership with Almacube, an Italian open innovation hub, the program is now in its eighth edition and returns to its original format, with Barilla as the sole promoter, following a 2025 ecosystem edition involving also supply chain partners.
Applications are open from May 25 to July 10, 2026, and target startups and innovative companies interested in testing their solutions through a structured co-design program.
A Program Built Around Real Industrial Execution
Selected companies will join an eight-week co-development journey, starting with an in-person kick-off at Barilla’s headquarters in Parma to define project scope and objectives with internal teams. The program then continues remotely with the development of a Proof of Concept, culminating in a Demo Day where results are presented to Barilla’s leadership.
Participants gain access to real operational data, industrial use cases and direct collaboration with Barilla teams, laying the foundation for a broader, collaborative relationship.
Focus Areas for 2026
Barilla is looking for solutions in three key areas:
From Pilot to Scale: Real-World Impact
Several collaborations developed through Good Food Makers have already been deployed at scale. These include solutions for supply chain traceability, now applied to over 400 million jars of Barilla pesto, as well as digital platforms for operational knowledge management, which have been rolled out across multiple production sites, improving efficiency and internal knowledge sharing.
Applications are available at: www.goodfoodmakers.it
Barilla Opens Global Call for Startups Through Good Food Makers 2026
