Last year saw the release of <a href="https://kneecapfilm.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kneecap</a>, a fictionalized account of the real-life West Belfast-based Irish language <a href="https://www.kneecap.ie/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rap group</a> of the same name. The group is know for their bombastic, irreverent take on politics in the North of Ireland and their advocacy for the Irish language, which faced centuries of suppression under British colonial rule. Longtime advocates for Palestine, Kneecap has made headlines recently for their on-stage <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/24/kneecap-say-statements-arent-aggressive-after-denouncing-israel-at-coachella" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statements at Coachella</a> in support of Gaza. Last week, UK prosecutors <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2qq2n3800o" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">charged</a> band member Mo Chara with a terrorism-related offense for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a show and chanting in support of Hezbollah and Hamas—part of a global trend in which pro-Palestinian speech is conflated with material support for terror. (The band has released a series of statements distancing themselves from calls for violence against civilians and <a href="https://www.brooklynvegan.com/kneecap-issue-statement-after-group-member-charged-with-terror-offense-this-is-political-policing/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">redirecting attention</a> to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.)&nbsp;This episode of On the Nose, hosted by contributing writer Rebecca Pierce, uses the Kneecap film as a jumping-off point for discussing the relationship between language reclamation, nationalism, and resistance. Joining her is scholar of Sephardic studies and Ladino speaker Devin Naar, and Yiddish-language musicians and culture workers Isabel Frey and Ira Temple. They discuss Kneecap’s advocacy for speaking Irish, the place of music and language in both national and decolonial movements, and the connections between such movements and Jewish efforts to preserve Ladino and Yiddish.&nbsp;Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Articles and Social Media Posts Mentioned<a href="https://borschtbeat.bandcamp.com/album/di-fliendike-pave" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Di fliendeke pave</a>, Isabel Frey<a href="http://iratemple.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ira Temple</a><a href="https://lauraelkeslassy.bandcamp.com/album/ya-ghorbati-live-concert" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ya Ghorbati</a>, Laura Elkeslassy“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5RvjRzAjgg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zog nit keyn mol</a>,” Yiddish partisan songKneecap <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@newstalkfm/video/7400510177713147169" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">speaking</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1550549839201479" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">out</a> on anti-immigrant riots in Belfast“<a href="https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0114/1490482-bernadette-devlin-1969-us-tour-irish-government/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Irish diplomats reacted to Bernadette Devlin's 1969 US tour</a>,” Melissa Baird, RTEKneecap on <a href="https://youtu.be/_V-YS0DbEHQ?si=8yIat3Ypoc0vmjml" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sectarianism</a>

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