Bob Vylan Frontman Deported From Germany for Chanting “Death to IDF” at Glastonbury
· The Intercept
The frontman of British punk rap band Bob Vylan was denied entry to Germany, detained at the Berlin airport, and ultimately deported to the United Kingdom last month due to his pro-Palestine statements.
German federal police justified deporting the band’s vocalist on June 15, referencing a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in England in 2025 where Bob Vylan led a chant of “Death, death to the IDF,” or the Israel Defense Forces.
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Authorities later revoked the entry ban against the singer, whose legal name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, in a letter in late July, but refused to explain why it had been rescinded — or how the decision to impose it had been made in the first place.
A police file on Robinson-Foster obtained by The Intercept alleges that he disseminated antisemitic narratives and Hamas propaganda that could “radicalise certain segments of the [German] population” and serve as “ideological justification” for terrorist groups or individuals. It also says that Robinson-Foster poses a threat to Germany’s public security and public order. Allowing him into the country would cause “considerable reputational damage” by creating the impression that Germany was making “no effort to prevent the spread of the propagated antisemitism and the associated calls to violence.”
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The German Federal Police declined to answer detailed questions about the now-revoked entry ban, citing public security interests and data protection. In response to a list of questions about the decision-making process behind the ban, its legal basis, and why it was lifted, Bundespolizei spokesperson Nikolai Jaletzke told The Intercept the agency does not comment on individual cases, internal threat assessments, or inter-agency coordination.
“It’s frankly absurd to suggest that I’m a threat to German national security,” Robinson-Foster told The Intercept. “It’s equally absurd to claim that we spread propaganda on behalf of any proscribed organization.”
“It’s frankly absurd to suggest that I’m a threat to German national security.”
Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance last year drew widespread international attention at a moment when an increasing number of artists were speaking out against Israel’s destruction of Gaza. The performance — and the chant of “Death, death to the IDF” — also drew condemnation from politicians, including then-U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and several pro-Israel Jewish organizations. Germany’s antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, described the performance as “hate speech and incitement” and called on concert organizers in Germany to cancel Bob Vylan shows.
Following that performance, Robinson-Foster and his bandmate Wade Laurence George had their U.S. visas revoked. However, Germany is the first country to deny entry and deport a member of the band.
The documents reviewed by The Intercept concern only the implementation of the ban — not the decision-making process behind it. “Our position is simple,” said Alexander Gorski, the German lawyer representing Robinson-Foster. “There is a constitutional right to know the file on which such a decision is based.”
Following Robinson-Foster’s deportation, Gorski submitted a request with the Federal Police headquarters in Potsdam seeking both the deletion of the entry ban from Germany’s national register and access to the files underlying the decision. Soon after, federal police rescinded the entry ban without explaining why it had been lifted. The two-page response, reviewed by The Intercept, states that no additional information could be disclosed.
“It is, of course, good that the ban is now lifted,” Gorski told The Intercept. “But from a rule-of-law perspective, it is deeply problematic that someone can be barred from entering the country over a political statement that is not a criminal offence — and then be denied access to the files.”
“If an artist wants to comply with the law, they have to know what the rules are.”
Gorski filed a formal objection seeking access to the internal files that led to the decision. He argues that Robinson-Foster has a right to know the factual and legal basis on which he was barred from entering Germany — not only to challenge the lawfulness of the measure, but also to understand what conduct German authorities consider grounds for refusing entry in the future.
“If an artist wants to comply with the law, they have to know what the rules are,” Gorski said.
It’s unclear how a British musician who hasn’t been charged with an offense in either the U.K. or Germany came to be classified by German authorities as a threat to public security. British police previously closed an investigation into Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance, concluding there was “insufficient evidence to support a realistic prospect of conviction.”
“There is a lack of crime, not a lack of evidence,” Robinson-Foster told The Intercept in response. “It’s on the BBC. They can just go and watch it.”
“There is a lack of crime, not a lack of evidence.”
According to Gorski, the case is yet another example of a broader shift in the use of German migration law against pro-Palestine figures. Last year, Berlin authorities moved to deport four foreign residents over their participation in protests against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
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Gorski argues that German authorities are increasingly using immigration law “to silence unwanted voices” by preventing critics of Israel from entering Germany or removing them from the country. Similar concerns have been raised by others, including Thomas Oberhäuser, chair of the German Bar Association’s executive committee on migration law, who argues that immigration law is increasingly used for political ends.
Gorski pointed to previous cases involving the British Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, both of whom he has represented in similar proceedings. German authorities sought to prevent them from entering the country to participate in Palestine-related events.
Chilling Dissent
Robinson-Foster told The Intercept that he traveled to Germany in June in a private capacity to visit friends and music collaborators ahead of the release of the band’s new album. Bob Vylan has toured Germany in recent years, and Robinson-Foster hopes to return soon. Even though authorities rescinded the entry ban, Robinson-Foster said the incident continues to shape his travel plans, saying it “opened a Pandora’s box.”
“It would seem as though the refusal of entry into Germany has now sparked this continued border confusion whenever we try to enter countries,” he said.
Since his deportation, Robinson-Foster said both he and his bandmate have been stopped for questioning at European borders. In one instance, Belgian border officials questioned the band’s drummer about the incident in Germany despite not having traveled there himself, Robinson-Foster said.
“We have shows that we are wanting to put on in Germany,” he said. “It’s a place that we’ve toured for the last five years. For us not to be able to connect with the people that support us there would be a shame.”
The post Bob Vylan Frontman Deported From Germany for Chanting “Death to IDF” at Glastonbury appeared first on The Intercept.