The organisers of the Eurovision Tune Contest are beneath growing stress to exclude Israel from this yr’s competitors because it wages a devastating struggle on Gaza.
Greater than 20 politicians wrote to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Tuesday saying Israel’s participation within the contest “whitewashes a regime that’s finishing up ethnic cleaning in Palestine and committing struggle crimes and genocide”.
European Parliament members and politicians from Spain’s left-wing Podemos get together are among the many signatories of the letter seen by Al Jazeera.
The annual contest is about to happen in Could at Sweden’s Malmo Area after Swedish singer Loreen received final yr.
The politicians behind the letter acknowledged that the EBU, which is a bunch of public media organisations, needs Eurovision to stay a non-political occasion.
“Nevertheless, the Eurovision Tune Contest did veto Russia’s participation within the contest from 2022 in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, in 2019, Iceland was fined by the pageant organisers as a result of the Icelandic contestant displayed a Palestinian flag on the Eurovision Tune Contest in Tel Aviv,” they stated.
“Israel’s participation is in clear battle with what the EBU claims to face for, because it misinforms about Israel and conceals its genocidal behaviour,” they added.
Thirty-seven international locations will take part this yr.
Israel grew to become the primary non-European nation to take part in 1973 and hosted the popular culture occasion in Tel Aviv in 2019. Entry to the competition is open to all members of the EBU.
Apart from the European politicians, musicians in Sweden, artists in Finland, and protesters in Norway and Eire have despatched letters to the EBU urging public broadcasters to exclude Israel from the competition.
Iceland, in the meantime, is reconsidering its participation if Israel is allowed to compete this yr.
On the time of publishing, the EBU had not responded to Al Jazeera’s request for remark.
Israel accuses everybody of terrorism to proceed massacring the Palestinian folks with whole impunity. We should forestall its participation in any worldwide occasion that enables it to whitewash its barbarism, equivalent to Eurovision. pic.twitter.com/g8A1BiUCSh
— Ione Belarra (@ionebelarra) February 4, 2024
‘Boycott Eurovision’
Eurovision, which started in 1956, is a world music pageant watched and adored by tens of millions of viewers.
However this yr, some followers stated they’ll be part of protests in opposition to Israel by boycotting the competition and turning off their screens ought to it’s allowed to take part.
“I’m an enormous Eurovision fan. It ought to simply be a little bit of enjoyable, however everyone knows behind the glitz and glamour, geopolitical video games are at play,” Ciara Greene, a Belgium-based fan advised Al Jazeera. “The day after Russia invaded Ukraine, it was rightly excluded from the tune contest. Permitting Israel to take part contributes to Israeli exceptionalism and normalises the state’s genocidal insurance policies.”
In Sweden, house to the 1974 Eurovision winner Abba, well-known musicians like Robyn have additionally signed a letter calling out the competitors’s alleged double commonplace.
“It’s arduous to not be political with music,” stated Ida, a 33-year outdated pupil within the Swedish capital, Stockholm. “If Israel have been to participate, I feel most simply wouldn’t vote for them and make their displeasure identified.”
Israel is reportedly planning to announce its entry on Tuesday.
Brian Donnelly, a human rights activist in Eire, organised a marketing campaign designed to stress RTE, Eire’s consultant broadcaster within the Eurovision Tune Contest, into urging the EBU to disqualify Israel.
“We heard this technique labored when Russia invaded Ukraine, however in our case, now we have not but acquired a reply from RTE,” Donnelly advised Al Jazeera. “If Israel takes half, it would assist their PR marketing campaign of normalising what they’re doing to the Palestinian folks.”
Claire Charles, a advertising and marketing supervisor from France, stated Israel’s inclusion was an indication of “Western hypocrisy”.
“All these public establishments are ineffective. Western governments are ineffective. Homicide and occupation and struggle and genocide continues to occur,” she advised Al Jazeera.
“Excluding Russia final time reveals the blatant racism of not excluding Israel this yr.”
