Canada bars Irish rap group Kneecap over alleged terror group support

The Carney government is barring the Irish rap group Kneecap from entering Canada, saying the group has endorsed political violence and terrorism.

Jewish groups sked Ottawa in June to ban the group, along with the English punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, over comments they argued served to incite antisemitism.

Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, parliamentary secretary for combating crime, says Kneecap has “publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas” that goes beyond artistic expression.

“Canada stands firmly against hate speech, incitement to violence and the glorification of terrorism,” Gasparro said in his video.

“Political debate and free speech are vital to our democracy, but open endorsements of terrorist groups are not free speech.”

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His announcement, made in a video posted this morning to social media, did not mention Bob Vylan.

Kneecap responded in an Instagram post, saying that Gasparro’s comments are “wholly untrue and deeply malicious.”

“We have today instructed our lawyers to initiate legal action against you,” the band’s statement said.

“We will be relentless in defending ourselves against baseless accusation to silence our opposition to a genocide being committed by Israel.”

Kneecap was scheduled to perform next month in Toronto and Vancouver.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says the decision is a stand against “incitement, hate and radicalization,” while B’nai Brith is declaring “victory.”