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The
Belfast trio, scheduled to play on Sziget's closing day on Aug.
11, is known for anarchic energy, satirical lyrics and use of
symbolism associated with the Irish republican movement, which
seeks to unite Northern Ireland, currently part of the U.K.,
with the Republic of Ireland.
The group has faced criticism for lyrics laden with expletives
and drug references and for political statements seeming to
glorify militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Kneecap has accused critics of trying to silence the band
because of its support for the Palestinian cause throughout
Israel's war in Gaza and say they don’t support Hezbollah and
Hamas nor condone violence.
Hungary's immigration authority, the National
Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, published decrees on
Thursday declaring Kneecap members Naoise Ó Cairealláin, J.J. Ó
Dochartaigh and Liam Óg ÓhAnnaidh would be banned from Hungary's
territory for three years since their “entry and stay constitute
a serious threat to national security.”
Government spokesman Zoltán Kovács wrote on social platform X
that the decision to ban Kneecap was due to “antisemitic hate
speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Hungarian authorities and other groups had earlier pushed Sziget
Festival to cancel the band's performance. Hungary's minister
for European affairs, János Bóka, noted the government’s
“zero-tolerance” policy toward antisemitism in a July 11 letter
to the festival's organizers.
Hundreds of figures from Hungary's music and cultural community
also have signed a petition calling for Kneecap's performance to
be cancelled.
The group performed in April at the Coachella Valley Music and
Arts Festival in California, where they accused Israel of
committing genocide against the Palestinians enabled by the U.S.
government. That sparked calls for the rappers’ U.S. visas to be
revoked and several Kneecap gigs have since been canceled as a
result.
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