One of the things characterizing almost all Israel-haters – besides unhinged hatred, of course – is their propensity to lie and generally be dishonest. Which makes sense, given they do not have facts, truth or history on their side.
A recent case in point: antisemitic terror supporter Tadhg Hickey, who came to the defence of Bob Vylan, claiming “death to the IDF” does not mean calling for the killing of individuals, but rather “a rejection of an oppressive military machine”:
Saying “death to the #IDF” is not a call for killing individuals but a rejection of an oppressive military machine, says Irish comedian and activist @TadhgHickey. He argues that global South nations view the IDF as akin to a terrorist force and criticizes British focus on punk… pic.twitter.com/cjkm52KdqP
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 1, 2025
He knows he is grasping at straws. I mean, this is the same Tadhg Hickey who showed he supports Hamas:
and who, at the funeral for former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, laughed as he chanted “Death to Israel”:
Holy sh*t
— (@NiohBerg) May 22, 2024
A European supporter of the regime in Iran is attending today's funeral for Raisi. Everyone is teaching him to chant "Death to Israel", while having a laugh.
The suffering people of Iran is not only occupied by barbarians, but now also have to suffer these fools too. pic.twitter.com/ubhEDgN4XM
I am pretty sure when he chanted this, he did not mean “death to just a military apparatus”, and meant it the way the Iranian regime means it: to wipe Israel and all of her Jewish inhabitants off the map.
In a similar vein, when he characterizes chants calling for “Intifada” as “brilliant”
pic.twitter.com/HMjsJVhPMx— Karen Ievers (@karenievers) May 19, 2024
he fully understands this entails Israeli civilians getting hurt and killed.
So, yes, Hickey fully realizes that “Death to the IDF” means death to all members of the IDF, who include many civilian reservists and also our sons and daughters in active duty.
And this is something he would, no doubt, fully get behind.
