Thursday, April 2, 2026 - Jewish groups have called on the Government to ban American rapper Kanye West from entering Britain to headline Wireless Festival this summer.
The controversial rapper has been unveiled as the main act
of all three nights of the event in Finsbury Park, London, this July, his
first UK performance in 11 years.
West, 48, has repeatedly made anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi
remarks on social media, which he has since apologised for and blamed on
bipolar disorder.
He's also worn swastika and 'White Lives Matter' T-shirts,
called himself a Nazi, released a song praising Hitler, and said he was going
'death con 3 on Jewish people'.
Phil Rosenberg, the president of the Board of Deputies of
British Jews, said inviting West to perform at one of Britain's biggest
festivals was 'the wrong decision'.
He said the government should 'show mettle on tackling
antisemitism' and consider 'blocking him from entering the country'.
The Home Secretary can deny visas to foreign nationals if
their presence is deemed 'not conducive to the public good'.
Mr Rosenberg told Newsnight: 'We're in this moment of really
high levels of antisemitism.
'So to have someone whose recent track record is, as you
said, declaring himself a Nazi, putting out a song called ''Heil Hitler'',
seems to be absolutely the wrong decision and many Jewish people will worry
that that will just inflame what is already a very febrile situation.'
He added: 'I'm very sympathetic to the challenges he has
with mental health and bipolar disorder. But the challenge is maybe he's not in
complete control of his ability to do those things.
And we're really worried that on stage at the Wireless
Festival, he'll suddenly come out with more of these things. And the organisers
really need to think carefully about this.
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