Laura Tesoro’s performance caused some commotion, because at the start of her song she waved a Palestinian flag and said: “I agree, free Palestine. You guys are super brave to do this here, you really are.” Afterwards, the live broadcast of the party was interrupted again, and Mechelen mayor Bart Somers had to calm things down on stage.
The activists could count on little understanding from the organization and, among others, Flemish Minister of the Interior Jan Jambon (N-VA) noted that he “thought it was a shame that a great event was misused”. Tesoro itself was also severely criticized on social media.
“I couldn’t sing a song and pretend that nothing was happening while there were demonstrations for human rights and human lives,” Tesoro now responds. “I couldn’t ignore that, so I raised the flag.” The singer clarifies that she has not expressed support for Hamas, that she does not hate Jews and that she does not think it is okay to kill innocent civilians, wherever they live. “It means that I want all wars and genocides to stop,” she decides.