Israel takes the battle to wash its image until Eurovision

taketonews

Israel pound one “fight for its existence”. It is the mantra that political, military and citizen leaders repeat to justify the war against Gaza, which has already claimed more than 28,000 Palestinian lives. But the battle front goes far beyond Israeli borders. It will soon arrive at European televisions. For now, all the movements are happening behind the scenes. Next May Israel will send its candidate Eden Golan to the musical contest Eurovision, as it has done in more than 40 editions after becoming the first non-European country to participate in the contest. His presence has always been controversial, but on this occasion the debate is more than served, with thousands of artists in Europe asking for their expulsion competition.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in charge of organizing Eurovision, has already come to the defense of Israel. “This is a apolitical contestwhich unites audiences around the world through music, and is a competition for stations, not for governments,” he recently defended in a statement. But, from Palestine solidarity movements throughout Europe, they consider that, in the current context, these arguments are more than problematic. “One thing is politics and another is violate human rightscarrying out a genocide”, denounces Luis Salazar Rabasamember of the working group against Israel’s participation in Eurovision of the Solidarity Platform with Palestine from Valladolid. “In any contest, no matter how apolitical it may be, if the contestant kills his neighbors, the normal thing is that he will not be allowed to compete,” he tells this newspaper.

“Además, hay pruebas suficientes para decir que la cadena KAN israelí [la radiodifusora pública que se presenta a Eurovisión] “It is participating in the genocide, it is not an apolitical chain,” says Salazar Rabasa. From different European countries, political groups and activists have positioned themselves along the same line. In Spain, Can has presented an initiative in Congress addressed to the Government, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and RTVE to call for expulsion from Israel of Eurovision. In the Nordic countries, this opposition has become stronger, with rallies in front of the headquarters of its national public channels and the union of artists calling for a boycott. For example, Icelandic public television, RÚVhas left his participation up in the air, naming the winner of his own song contest, which will be announced in March and in which it is presented the palestinian candidate Bashar Muradto decide whether to participate in Eurovision or boycott the event.

“Doble rasero”

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Más de mil músicos suecos han exigido que Israel sea excluido de la edición de 2024, que se celebra en la ciudad de Malmö en el extremo sur del país, del concurso de canciones por su “guerra brutal en Gaza”. Estas críticas han llegado hasta el Parlamento Europeo, donde 25 eurodiputados de diferentes organizaciones, en su mayoría progresistas, han exigido lo mismo. “Su participación blanquea a un régimen que está ejecutando una limpieza étnica en Palestina”, señalan en una carta enviada a la UER. En la misiva, han pedido coherencia a la UER con su espíritu fundacional de solidaridad y cooperación, ya que creen que la participación de Israel estaría en clara contradicción. Tanto la Eurocámara como otras voces críticas se amparan en el pasado más reciente, cuando en 2022 la UER prohibió la participación de Rusia por la guerra de Ucrania.

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