[Benjamin]

Over 70 former contestants have signed an open letter demanding the country and its broadcaster be excluded

Seventy-two former Eurovision contestants have signed an open letter calling for Israel and its national broadcaster KAN to be banned from this year’s contest.

The letter seen by The Independent is addressed to the European Broadcasting Union, which organises Eurovision, and blames the uproar that surrounded last year’s event in Sweden for leading to “the most politicised, chaotic and unpleasant in the competition’s history”.

It accuses KAN of being “complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people”.

Israel vehemently denies that it is committing genocide. Court proceedings at the United Nation’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, are ongoing.

In 2023, KAN reporter Rotem Achihun was filmed joking with Israeli soldiers while appearing to write a “message for Gaza” on the side of a tank shell.

KAN received heavy criticism last year for its delegation’s alleged treatment of contestants.

Irish contestant Bambie Thug accused the network of “inciting violence against me, twice, three times”. The singer withdrew from dress rehearsals over the controversy, prompting the EBU to confirm it had spoken with KAN about its coverage.

Among the signatories of the letter are 2023 UK contestant Mae Muller, Ireland’s 1994 champion Charlie McGettigan, and Portuguese singer Fernando Tordo.

“By continuing to platform the representation of the Israeli state, the EBU is normalising and whitewashing its crimes,” the letter states.

“The EBU has already demonstrated that it is capable of taking measures, as in 2022, when it expelled Russia from the competition. We don’t accept this double standard regarding Israel.

“We stand in solidarity with this year’s contestants and condemn the EBU’s repeated refusal to take responsibility.”

Eurovision 2024 was plagued by controversy due to Israel’s participation in the contest amid its ongoing attacks on Gaza. Some critics accused the EBU of hypocrisy for refusing to remove Israel from the competition, having previously ejected Russia in 2022 following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“[It] can’t be one rule for Russia and a completely different rule for Israel. You bomb, you’re out,” Thea Garrett, who represented Malta in 2010 and who signed the letter, said.

Israel was ultimately allowed to compete last year with its delegate Eden Golan, despite threatening to withdraw after she was asked to amend her song “October Rain” due to its perceived lyrical references to the 7 October attacks.

This year, Israel is being represented by 7 October survivor Yuval Raphael, who will sing the track “New Day Will Rise” at the event, held in Basel, Switzerland.

“We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East,” Martin Green CBE, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, told The Independent.

“The EBU is an association of public service broadcasters who are all eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest every year. Additionally, as part of its mission to secure a sustainable future for public service media, the EBU is supporting our Israeli Member Kan against the threat from being privatized or shut down by the Israeli government.

“We are not immune to global events but, together, it is our role to ensure the Contest remains – at its heart – a universal event that promotes connections, diversity and inclusion through music. The EBU remains aligned with other international organisations that have similarly maintained their inclusive stance towards Israeli participants in major competitions at this time.”

The letter is published after broadcasters for three participating countries questioned Israel’s role in the competition earlier this year.

Spanish broadcaster RTVE wrote to the EBU’s secretary-general for a discussion about the issue, while Iceland’s delegation and foreign minister called the country’s participation “strange” and Slovenia’s RTV SLO network backed calls for Israel to be banned.

In response, the EBU said it appreciated there are concerns about the “current conflict in the Middle East” and remains “in constant contact with those participating this year”.

Last year, over 56,000 people signed a petition calling for Israel to be banned while Iceland’s Association of Composers and Lyricists, along with over 1,400 industry professionals across Europe, called for Golan to be suspended.

During the event itself, there were several direct and indirect references to the war. The EBU expressing “regret” that Swedish candidate Eric Saade wore a Keffiyeh on stage. Irish delegate Bambie Thug later hit out at the EBU for “scapegoating” Ireland while refusing to address the “urgent” matter.

The full letter is included below and is to be published along with its full list of signatories on artistsforpalestine.org.uk:

“Exclude Israel from Eurovision: A call from former Eurovision participants”

“We, the undersigned former Eurovision participants, urge all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to demand the exclusion of KAN, the Israeli public broadcaster, from the Eurovision Song Contest. KAN is complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people.

“We believe in the unifying power of music, which is why we refuse to allow music to be used as a tool to whitewash crimes against humanity. Last year, we were appalled that the EBU allowed Israel to participate while it continued its genocide in Gaza broadcast live for the world to see. The result was disastrous.

“Rather than acknowledging the widespread criticism and reflecting on its own failures, the EBU responded by doubling down — granting total impunity to the Israeli delegation while repressing other artists and delegations, making the 2024 edition the most politicized, chaotic and unpleasant in the competition’s history.

“Silence is not an option. When authoritarian movements and the far-right are on the rise around the globe, our duty to speak out has only become more pressing. We therefore join together to state that the EBU's complicity with Israel's genocide must stop.

“By continuing to platform the representation of the Israeli state, the EBU is normalising and whitewashing its crimes. The EBU has already demonstrated that it is capable of taking measures, as in 2022, when it expelled Russia from the competition. We don’t accept this double standard regarding Israel.

“We stand in solidarity with this year’s contestants and condemn the EBU’s repeated refusal to take responsibility.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-b2745466.html

[Livia]

Not sure why Israel bothers anymore. So many people have so much to say. It's a song contest ffs...

[Mystic Mock]

Talking about the "Far Right being on the rise" whilst not calling out threatening behaviour, bullying, and booing a contestant just because she represented Israel is what one would call distorting the full story, but surely these Music Industry people wouldn't omit all of the facts would they?

But I will ultimately agree with them that if Russia has to be banned from the competition for genocide then so should Israel.

Personally though I would have both countries take part.

[Livia]

Russia illegally crossed a national border to invade a sovereign state. Israel retaliated to a terrorist atrocity where people were murdered, tortured, burned and captured after years of daily rocket assaults into Israel from the roofs of Palestinian schools and hospitals. It's not the same. But I'm so sick of these calls by some no mark no one's ever heard of, for Israel to be excluded. I wish they would just withdraw so they don't get booed again. Booed by a mainly gay audience who, in Palestine, would get a short flight off a roof.

[Quantum Boy]

Perhaps controversially I'd like politics to be kept out of the consideration entirely and for that to apply across the board - i.e. no I don't think Israel should be banned... but I don't think Russia should be banned either. If there's a rule on "warring nations" it needs to be applied consistently but yeah I'd side with letting Russia enter rather than kicking Israel out.

[Jessica.]

I don't even watch it anymore because of them allowing Israel to participate, I used to enjoy it so much too.

[Quantum Boy]

It's definitely a harder watch these days than it once was but not because of any one participant... it's more that while it was always semi-political, these days it feels very "tense" which is odd for what it is. Last year less so than 2023, to be fair, 2023 was very odd viewing.

TBH it would all be less of an issue if they'd actually stuck with it being a Europe-wide contest... given that neither Israel nor Russia* are part of Europe. (Yes I know Russia is partly on the European continent but it's not really Europe is it).

[Vanessa]

Don't ban anyone. If they're in they're in.
Yes it's a song contest, leave the politics out of it.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Don't ban anyone. If they're in they're in.
Yes it's a song contest, leave the politics out of it.

But what would the virtue signallers do?

[Nicky91]

who cares about what other broadcasters think, i don't anymore


Israel are allowed to participate, as they don't actually invade a different country (and no, palestine ain't a country) unlike Russia who got rightfully banned after invading Ukraine, same as Belarus also rightfully banned after they had a pro-dictatorship entry in 2021 as well as them supporting Russia quite actively in the war against ukraine



Yuval doesn't deserve this AT ALL, she literally had to hide beneath dead bodies on October 7th to survive, it's a miracle she is now here in Basel with a wonderful ballad and quite a promising show act it seems