On May 7, 9 and 11, the 2024 Eurovision will be held in Malmo, Sweden. I wrote a bit about the song that will represent Israel this year, which you can find here.
Still, the story of this music contest, at this time, and in this specific host city, deserves more attention. I found a great Israeli news piece in two parts, with English subtitles. The first part deals with how hostile Malmo is to Israelis and Jews, the second part revolves around meeting the local Jewish community in Malmo, and hearing from them about their fears ahead of ESC 2024. Both I think are worth watching, in part because they say a lot about the situation of Jews in Europe specifically and in the west in general nowadays.
youtube
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(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)
🚨 IOF warplanes carried out a number of airstrikes on areas of Rafah in the southern #Gaza Strip in recent minutes. Warplanes bombed the Al-Khatib home in southern Rafah, which resulted in 3 martyrs and several wounded, as well as the Al-Salam home in eastern Rafah, resulting in injuries. The Hijazi home in Rafah was also bombed.
Martyrs and wounded were also reported as a result of the occupation aircraft bombing a house in the vicinity of the Abu Hasira area, west of Gaza City.
BDS has called for an official boycott of Eurovision2024
Everyone...you know what to do
[ID 1: text on a black background reading: "Boycott Eurovision: Artwashing Israel's #GazaGenocide". The Eurovision logo is edited such that red barbed wire appears over the heart in the center.
ID 2: a tweet from "PACBI - BDS movement" @/PACBI reading:
We call for the boycott of #Eurovision2024". We urge all participating broadcasters, national competitors, finalists, production crews, and viewers to boycott the contest following the refusal of the organizers @/EBU_HQ to ban genocidal Israel. #BoycottEurovision2024
apparently Israel is throwing a tantrum about not being allowed to submit a zionist anthem October Rain into the Eurovision Song Contest. They're threatening to withdraw because the EBU has told them the song is too political and that it would be disqualified.
You should still boycott Eurovision even if Israel withdraws! The EBU's refusal to take a stance against Israel on the grounds of the ongoing genocide is reason enough to boycott the contest.
It has been announced officially that israel will be participating despite the many calls and petitions against it due to the genocide of the Palestinians that they are conducting.
Russia was banned because of the war with Ukraine, why not israel?
Eurovision is now lying about Israel and Russia. The Eurovision organiser EBU is suggesting Russia wasn’t banned due to invading Ukraine, a lie that even their own website disproves.
The EBU says the Israel situation is “fundamentally different” from Russia in 2022. They suggest they didn’t kick Russia out of Eurovision because they invaded Ukraine, they kicked Russia out of the EBU for unrelated reasons.
Except… that’s not what happened! In 2022, the EBU had announced Russia would be kicked out of Eurovision “in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”.
The Russian broadcasters responded to being booted from Eurovision by announcing their intention to withdraw from the EBU, which the EBU reported via their website.
So why are they now saying something else happened? It’s a lie. The EBU kicked Russia out of Eurovision before the Russian broadcasters left the EBU. This is clearly an attempt to distance themselves from their (quite right) decision to remove a country from Eurovision.
But the fact is, the EBU created a precedent for themselves of removing a country due to war and now they want to pretend that never happened so they don’t have to take action against Israel.
I just wanna say that even if israel doesnt compete in this years eurovision, DO NOT STOP BOYCOTTING EUROVISION. They showed their double standard. They banned Russia pretty quickly after Russia invaded Ukraine but say nothing about israels cruel attacks in Gaza.
Do not stop boycotting. Let them know that we do not forgive or forget.
They cant say "this isnt about politics" when it clearly is. Russia got banned, why israel doesnt get banned?
Here's a quick run down of everything they've done + why you should boycott
Despite banning Russia for its actions in the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel is still in the contest (despite committing war crimes, attacking Gaza with genocidal intent etc)
"But Hamas attacked first on Oct.7" - Then why is Israel also bombing southern Lebanon if Hezbollah and the Lebanese government aren't involved?????
Israel often uses ESC as a platform for propaganda
One key example is their promotions for their 2019 broadcast, where they tried to turn attention away from the occupation and portray the country as a liberal haven of democracy, with the lines "... it's a land of war and occupation. But we have so much more than that!" and pointing out its the only place in the middle east where "gays are hugging in the street". (as if the rest of the Levant INCLUDING PALESTINE isn't actually relatively chill when it comes to gay rights)
Another example is them sending an Ethiopian Jewish singer to perform a song called "Set me Free" the same year they stormed Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, which seemed to be very intentionally trying to shift the narrative away from Israel as a colonial occupier, and more as a persecuted people who have finally found safety
As well as the issues with Israel as a competitor, ESC is SPONSORED by MoroccanOil, an Israeli company (ik the name is misleading, but speaking as a Moroccan Israel just really loves to steal our culture while treating our people they stole like shit [I could go on an entire rant ab this but I won't])
So what this means is we can't just boycott this year and then forget about it the next. Until Israeli presence is completely removed from EUROVISION, your views and your money will be funnelled to support an Apartheid regime. I already know people who are still watching Eurovision despite not supporting the occupation, because they love the artists and the spectacle. But no spectacle is worth supporting an Apartheid regime. The best way we can help the Palestinians is by making Israel a pariah state, and pressuring politicians to cut all their funding. That way they won't be able to put down uprisings and maintain the brutal police state they have - at which point they can only resolve the conflict peacefully and end occupation, or find themselves in the throw of a violent revolution. It was these strategies that ultimately helped end the apartheid regime in South Africa, and it is these strategies which can help end Israeli apartheid.
The EBU has allowed Israel to participate in Eurovision 2024 despite the genocide in Gaza, claming that it is 'an apolitical event that unites audiences around the world through music' despite removing Russia in 2023 due to the complaints of other countries.
Last year's Eurovision has been about showing support of Ukraine because they needed help, Palistinians need help now too. We have to show these organizations and countries that we aren't going to just stay silent when people are literally being systematically starved and dying on the streets.
Youtuber verilybitchie has listed the national broadcastors of the countries participating. Send your complaints. They can't get away with this.
please vote to take israel off eurovision 2024. its presence there is not only an acknowledgement of it as a legitimate country, show europe's support in it's genocide, but it also an upfront dismissal of the lives lost in the Palestinian genocide. please consider voting to change that.