The Artists for Palestine pressure group has published an open letter from 72 former Eurovision competitors, calling for a ban on Israel, and its national broadcaster KAN, from this year’s contest in Switzerland.
The letter, addressed to the European Broadcasting Union, (EBU) 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”.
Last year’s Israeli entrant, Eden Golan, was subjected to severe harassment and barracking during Eurovision in Sweden. She was forced to change the lyrics of her song, October Rain, because of perceived reference to the 7 October Hamas attacks.
Eden Golan singing October Rain , now a mourner’s anthem
But one of the contestants, Ireland’s Bambie Thug, who is non-binary, complained that KAN had harassed them during dress rehearsals to the point of physical violence, leading to the EBU reproving the Israeli broadcaster, though taking no further action.
The letter says that last year’s contest was “the most politicised, chaotic and unpleasant” in Eurovision’s history.
It also compares Israel unfavourably with Russia, which has been banned from Eurovision since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The signatories say: “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.”
Thea Garrett, who represented Malta in 2010, and who signed the letter, said: “[It] can’t be one rule for Russia and a completely different rule for Israel. You bomb, you’re out”. Other signatories include Britain’s 2023 contestant Mae Muller, Ireland’s 1994 entry Charlie McGettigan, and Portugal’s Fernando Tordo.
Israel has won Eurovision four times. Its entry to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is from a Nova Festival massacre survivor, Yuval Raphael, who will perform the song “New Day Will Rise”. Eurovision this year runs from May 13 to the grand final on Saturday May 17.
