Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – On Tuesday, more than 20 politicians wrote to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – an alliance of public media service organizations who are responsible for organising the Eurovision Song Contest – calling to disqualify Israel amid the ongoing war on Gaza.
Israel became the first non-European country to participate in the annual contest in 1973 but as 124 days have passed since they launched their merciless war on Gaza, a debate has been sparked as to whether or not they should be allowed to participate this year.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) is responsible for the 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza who have been killed, injured or missing so far.
The notion was supported by European Parliament members and politicians from Spain’s left-wing Podemos party, amongst representatives from several other countries.
The letter acknowledged that Israel’s participation in the contest “whitewashes a regime that is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Palestine and committing war crimes and genocide.”
Furthermore, they stated that “Israel’s participation is in clear conflict with what the EBU claims to stand for, as it misinforms about Israel and conceals its genocidal behaviour.”
Alongside European politicians, musicians in Sweden, artists in Finland, and protestors in Norway and Ireland have called to disqualify Israel, urging the EBU to reconsider Israel’s suitability.
Brian Donnelly, a human rights activist in Ireland, said; “If Israel takes part, it will help their PR campaign of normalising what they’re doing to the Palestinian people.”
Russia has been banned from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest, since the start of the war they raged against Ukraine in 2022.
Therefore, Claire Charles, a marketing manager from France, supports the notion to disqualify Israel, stating; “Excluding Russia last time reveals the blatant racism of not excluding Israel this year.”
This is a very important “red line” for Eurovision fans and participants around the world. Should Israel be allowed to participate in the contest, there is speculation that fans will join protests by boycotting the contest and turning off their television screens.
Meanwhile, Iceland is already considering withdrawing from the competition if Israel is allowed to compete this year.
The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place in May at Sweden’s Malmo Arena, with the participation of 37 different countries.
Read also: UN Warns of ‘Large-Scale’ Loss of Life as Israeli Occupation Plans Rafah Attack
