A NUMBER of European politicians have called for Israel to be excluded from this year’s Eurovision as war rages on in Gaza.
More than 20 politicians wrote to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Tuesday, saying Israel’s participation in the contest “whitewashes a regime that is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Palestine and committing war crimes and genocide”.
European Parliament members and politicians from Spain’s Podemos party are among the signatories of the letter, which has been seen by Al Jazeera.
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This year’s contest is set to take place in May at Sweden’s Malmo Arena after singer Loreen won the event last year.
The politicians behind the letter acknowledged that the EBU – a group of public media organisations – wants Eurovision to remain a non-political event.
They said: “However, the Eurovision Song Contest did veto Russia’s participation in the contest from 2022 in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
“Also, in 2019, Iceland was fined by the festival organisers because the Icelandic contestant displayed a Palestinian flag at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv.
“Israel’s participation is a clear conflict with what the EBU claims to stand for, as it misinforms about Israel and conceals its genocidal behaviour.”
A total of 37 countries are to participate this year and entry to the contest is open to all members of the EBU.
Besides this letter, Al Jazeera also reports that a number of musicians in Sweden and Finland as well as protesters in Norway and Ireland have sent letters to the EBU urging public broadcasters to exclude Israel from the contest.
In a post on Twitter/X, Spanish politician Ione Belarra said: “Israel accuses everyone of terrorism to continue massacring the Palestinian people with total impunity.
“We must prevent its participation in any international event that allows it to whitewash its barbarism, such as Eurovision.”
Israel’s participation in major events has previously come under the spotlight, with a pro-Palestinian campaign previously calling for Israel to be removed from all global football tournaments “until it ends grave violations of international law”.
The call was retweeted by Match of the Day presenter and former England footballer Gary Lineker (below).
A number of people speaking to Al Jazeera said they were planning on boycotting the contest if Israel is allowed to enter.
Brian Donnelly, a human rights activist in Ireland, said he had organised a campaign designed to pressure RTE, Ireland’s representative broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest, into urging the EBU to disqualify Israel.
Responding to the letter, the director general of the EBU Noel Curran said the organisation “understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East”.
“We can’t fail to be moved by the profound suffering of all those caught up in this terrible war,” he added.
“A lot of the images from Israel and Gaza that audiences are watching every day are provided through the EBU News Exchange, which we run with our members.”
However, he added that Eurovision is a “non-political music event and a competition between public service broadcasters who are members of the EBU” rather than a “contest between governments”.
Curran continued: "As a member-led organisation, our governing bodies – the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group and the Executive Board – did review the participants list for the 2024 Contest and agreed that the Israeli public broadcaster KAN met all the competition rules for this year and can participate as it has for the past 50 years.
"We are aware of the many voices calling to exclude Israel from this year’s competition in the same way as we excluded the Russian broadcaster in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. Comparisons between wars and conflicts are complex and difficult and, as a non-political media organisation, not ours to make.
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"In the case of Russia, the Russian broadcasters themselves were suspended from the EBU due to their persistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service values. The relationship between KAN and the Israeli Government is fundamentally different to the relationship that exists between those Russian Members and the State, with the Israeli Government in recent years threatening to close down the broadcaster.
"The EBU is aligned with other international organisations, including sports unions and federations and other international bodies, that have similarly maintained their inclusive stance towards Israeli participants in major competitions at this time.
"We remain committed to ensuring the Eurovision Song Contest remains a non-political event that continues to unite audiences worldwide through music.”
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