Exclude Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest
Exclude Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest
The Issue
The goal of this petition is to raise the pressure to exclude Israel from the European Song Contest, Eurovision, until a two-state solution can be reached.
All of us deserve peace. Those who are not acting to achieve peace should not be included in a celebration of diversity such as Eurovision!
Innocent Palestinian men, women and children are losing their lives daily under a false narrative that labels all Arabs as terrorists, deserving of death or worse. This is not just an issue of politics; it's an issue of humanity.
The Eurovision Song Contest is a platform that celebrates diversity, unity, and cultural exchange. However, including Israel in this event seems contradictory to these values given the ongoing conflict and human rights violations in Palestine. According to Human Rights Watch (2021), Israeli authorities are committing crimes against humanity by methodically privileging Jewish Israelis while repressing Palestinians.
Eurovision values excellence and accountability (EBU, 2024). The contest last year was emphasised by togetherness and solidarity. In 2022 Russia* was excluded from the context after invading Ukraine, and has yet to be welcomed back (Eurovisionworld, 2022). So, why is Israel still there? Israel has been officially declared as committing apartheid against the Palestinian people (Amnesty International, 2022), and have been part Eurovision controversy a multiple times during their participation since 1973 (Riesman, 2019; Doyle, 2023). In 2000, the state of Israel disowned their own entry, PingPong, after the band called for peace in the Middle East on the stage ( https://youtu.be/3uNfhj66GOo?si=ofFg4tu0MMFHud5P ). In 2016, Eurovision banned the display of Palestinian flags during the contest (Haaertz, 2016). Quite a clear political statement for a show that claims to be non-political (ESC, 2023). In 2019, after a win brought the competition to Tel Aviv, Iceland’s entry Hatari displayed Palestinian flags as a display of protest and solidarity and accrued fines from the Israeli state against their actions, something that was supported by ESC under the statement that Eurovision does not involve itself in political matters (DW, 2019). Hypocritical, especially after last year’s song contest was seen to be a very clear political statement (Williams, 2023). It’s not a secret at this point that despite ESC’s claims to be apolitical, the entire contest is rooted in politics (Castro, 2021). So, really, why is Israel still allowed to compete?
To put it simply, it’s because no one is making a fuss. Russia was only excluded after other competing countries declared they would remove their participation if Russia were allowed to compete (Gallagher, 2022). In making that decision, ESC claimed that the decision was made to uphold the basic values of democracy. Ok, then it’s time to hold Eurovision accountable.
By excluding Israel from such international platforms as Eurovision until they respect human rights laws and cease their oppressive actions against Palestinians, we can send a strong message about our commitment to justice and equality for all people. A two-state solution can be reached, and it starts with a ceasefire.
Please sign this petition if you believe in using our collective voice for change. Let's stand together against injustice – because every signature counts towards making a difference.
- It is important to note that the reference to Russia in this text is NOT in comparison of the events of either conflict. It is ONLY to point out that action has been taken by Eurovision to exclude actors of war before, so they can do it again.
- This petiton is about supporting HUMAN RIGHTS.
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Sources in order of citation:
https://eurovision.tv/about/rules
https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/ebu-kicks-russia-out-of-eurovision-2022
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/
https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/2019-eurovision-israel-controversy-explained.html
https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/12/30/decision-to-exclude-russia-hard-says-eurovision-boss
9,003
The Issue
The goal of this petition is to raise the pressure to exclude Israel from the European Song Contest, Eurovision, until a two-state solution can be reached.
All of us deserve peace. Those who are not acting to achieve peace should not be included in a celebration of diversity such as Eurovision!
Innocent Palestinian men, women and children are losing their lives daily under a false narrative that labels all Arabs as terrorists, deserving of death or worse. This is not just an issue of politics; it's an issue of humanity.
The Eurovision Song Contest is a platform that celebrates diversity, unity, and cultural exchange. However, including Israel in this event seems contradictory to these values given the ongoing conflict and human rights violations in Palestine. According to Human Rights Watch (2021), Israeli authorities are committing crimes against humanity by methodically privileging Jewish Israelis while repressing Palestinians.
Eurovision values excellence and accountability (EBU, 2024). The contest last year was emphasised by togetherness and solidarity. In 2022 Russia* was excluded from the context after invading Ukraine, and has yet to be welcomed back (Eurovisionworld, 2022). So, why is Israel still there? Israel has been officially declared as committing apartheid against the Palestinian people (Amnesty International, 2022), and have been part Eurovision controversy a multiple times during their participation since 1973 (Riesman, 2019; Doyle, 2023). In 2000, the state of Israel disowned their own entry, PingPong, after the band called for peace in the Middle East on the stage ( https://youtu.be/3uNfhj66GOo?si=ofFg4tu0MMFHud5P ). In 2016, Eurovision banned the display of Palestinian flags during the contest (Haaertz, 2016). Quite a clear political statement for a show that claims to be non-political (ESC, 2023). In 2019, after a win brought the competition to Tel Aviv, Iceland’s entry Hatari displayed Palestinian flags as a display of protest and solidarity and accrued fines from the Israeli state against their actions, something that was supported by ESC under the statement that Eurovision does not involve itself in political matters (DW, 2019). Hypocritical, especially after last year’s song contest was seen to be a very clear political statement (Williams, 2023). It’s not a secret at this point that despite ESC’s claims to be apolitical, the entire contest is rooted in politics (Castro, 2021). So, really, why is Israel still allowed to compete?
To put it simply, it’s because no one is making a fuss. Russia was only excluded after other competing countries declared they would remove their participation if Russia were allowed to compete (Gallagher, 2022). In making that decision, ESC claimed that the decision was made to uphold the basic values of democracy. Ok, then it’s time to hold Eurovision accountable.
By excluding Israel from such international platforms as Eurovision until they respect human rights laws and cease their oppressive actions against Palestinians, we can send a strong message about our commitment to justice and equality for all people. A two-state solution can be reached, and it starts with a ceasefire.
Please sign this petition if you believe in using our collective voice for change. Let's stand together against injustice – because every signature counts towards making a difference.
- It is important to note that the reference to Russia in this text is NOT in comparison of the events of either conflict. It is ONLY to point out that action has been taken by Eurovision to exclude actors of war before, so they can do it again.
- This petiton is about supporting HUMAN RIGHTS.
******************************************
Sources in order of citation:
https://eurovision.tv/about/rules
https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/ebu-kicks-russia-out-of-eurovision-2022
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/
https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/2019-eurovision-israel-controversy-explained.html
https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/12/30/decision-to-exclude-russia-hard-says-eurovision-boss
9,003
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on 14 November 2023