Organizers of the Eurovision song contest are under increasing pressure to exclude Israel from this year’s contest as it wages a devastating war against Gaza.
More than 20 politicians wrote to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Tuesday saying Israel’s participation in the competition “whitewashes a regime that is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Palestine and committing war crimes and genocide.” .
MEPs and politicians from Spain’s left-wing Podemos party are among the signatories to the letter seen by Tel Aviv Tribune.
The annual competition is set to take place in May at Sweden’s Malmo Arena, following Swedish singer Loreen’s victory last year.
The politicians behind the letter acknowledged that the EBU, which is a group of public media organisations, wanted Eurovision to remain a non-political event.
“However, the Eurovision Song Contest has vetoed Russia’s participation in the contest from 2022, in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, in 2019, Iceland was fined by festival organizers because an Icelandic contestant displayed a Palestinian flag at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv,” they said.
“Israel’s participation clearly conflicts with what the EBU claims to stand for, as it misrepresents Israel and covers up its genocidal behavior,” they added.
Thirty-seven countries will participate this year.
Israel became the first non-European country to participate in 1973 and hosted the pop culture event in Tel Aviv in 2019. Registration for the competition is open to all EBU members.
In addition to European politicians, Swedish musicians, Finnish artists and Norwegian and Irish protesters sent letters to the EBU urging public broadcasters to exclude Israel from the competition.
Iceland, meanwhile, is reconsidering its participation if Israel is allowed to compete this year.
At the time of publication, the EBU had not responded to Tel Aviv Tribune’s request for comment.
Israel accuses everyone of terrorism and continues to massacre the Palestinian people with impunity. We must prevent his participation in any international event that would allow him to whitewash his barbarity, such as Eurovision. pic.twitter.com/g8A1BiUCSh
– Ione Belarra (@ionebelarra) February 4, 2024
“Boycott Eurovision”
Eurovision, which began in 1956, is an international music competition watched and loved by millions of viewers.
But this year, some fans said they would join protests against Israel by boycotting the contest and turning off their screens if allowed to participate.
“I’m a big fan of Eurovision. It should just be a bit of fun, but we all know that behind the glitz and glamour, geopolitical games are being played,” Ciara Greene, a fan based in Belgium, told Tel Aviv Tribune. “The day after Russia invaded Ukraine, she was rightly excluded from the song contest. Allowing Israel to participate contributes to Israeli exceptionalism and normalizes the state’s genocidal policies.
In Sweden, the home country of 1974 Eurovision winner Abba, famous musicians like Robyn also signed a letter denouncing the contest’s alleged double standards.
“It’s hard not to be political when it comes to music,” said Ida, a 33-year-old student in Stockholm, the Swedish capital. “If Israel were to participate, I think most would simply not vote for them and make their displeasure known. »
Israel reportedly plans to announce its entry on Tuesday.
Brian Donnelly, a human rights activist in Ireland, organized a campaign to pressure RTE, the Irish broadcaster representing the Eurovision Song Contest, to urge the EBU to disqualify Israel.
“We heard that this strategy worked when Russia invaded Ukraine, but in our case we have not yet received a response from RTE,” Donnelly told Tel Aviv Tribune. “If Israel participates, it will contribute to its public relations campaign to normalize what it does to the Palestinian people. »
Claire Charles, a French marketing manager, said the inclusion of Israel was a sign of “Western hypocrisy”.
“All these public institutions are useless. Western governments are useless. The killings, occupation, war and genocide continue to happen,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Excluding Russia last time reveals the blatant racism of not excluding Israel this year. »
