WHEN DEATH IS CHANTED, AND NO ONE STOPS THE MUSIC

At Glastonbury last week, the punk band Bob Vylan lead singer led the crowd in chanting “Death, death, to the IDF.” Even more shocking: the BBC, broadcasting live, let the chant run for a full 20 seconds before cutting it and left it available on iPlayer for a further 5 hours. A call for the death of Jews, masqueraded as protest, aired live to millions—and no one acted. This is more than a lapse in editorial judgment in our national broadcaster. It’s a sign of how far moral standards have collapsed.

In this week’s parsha, Chukat, we read of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer—a ritual used to purify someone who had come into contact with death. The Torah’s message is profound: death defiles, and the response to it must be purification and renewal. Judaism never glories death. It mourns it. It protects life. In Jewish thought, moral purity requires us not only to avoid death but to distance ourselves from its glorification. We are commanded to “Choose life”, to sanctify it.

That makes the incident at Glastonbury all the more jarring. The IDF—an army that exists to defend life—was turned into a target for hate, while thousands cheered. The call for death against the very institution safeguarding our collective existence in our homeland is a particularly virulent form of hatred.

In his final book, Morality, the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks warned that we are living through a shift from a “We” society—built on shared values and responsibility—to an “I” society, focused on personal expression, grievance, and blame. When morality becomes subjective, hate can pass for virtue, and calls for death can masquerade as justice.

We witnessed last week what Rabbi Sacks called “the politics of anger”; untethered from any sense of proportion or principle. A crowd high on outrage, chanting for death, and a public broadcaster too indifferent to stop it.

Parashat Chukat reminds us that contact with death demands purification. When society around us allows the celebration of death instead, we must stand firm in our choice of life and the responsibility to live it well.

The State of Israel is being uniquely targeted and vilified. The impact on antisemitism is being felt worldwide. But as the proverbial canary in the coal mine, this warns of malaise of society at large; a symptom of how easily moral boundaries erode when anger trumps truth and empathy. When the call for death is amplified and normalized, it is not only one people which is imperilled. The very fabric of civil discourse and shared human values is at risk.

As Jews—and as human beings—we must seek effective responses. When chants for death are met with cheers or shrugs, we must speak up. When public platforms normalize hatred, we must demand accountability. Moral courage begins with moral clarity: to name hate, to stand for life, and to strive to build a better world for all. The music of moral indifference plays on only when no one dares to change the tune. It’s time we changed it.