This year, Malmö, Sweden is set to host the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.  Once again, the guiding theme will be “United by Music”. Eurovision recently announced the participants for this year’s contest - including Israel. This hypocrisy is unbelievable and must not be accepted.

In 2022, Russia was famously banned from competing in the E Eurovision Song Contest after its invasion of Ukraine. The Eurovision chief has said Russia’s ongoing ban from the international song contest has been hard but the event should stand for “the basic and ultimate values of democracy”. He added: “This will be a Eurovision song contest that really shows the values that we talk about – solidarity, reaching out, uniting through music.” (Source: The Guardian).

It is more than appalling to see a lack of consistency in its approach considering the recently revealed list of contestants for this year’s contest. The decision to include Israel raises questions about the contest's real commitment to its purported values. 

Three reasons to ban Israel from  Eurovision Song Contest:

1 Ongoing Genocide: For years, Israel's ultra-right government has faced criticism for its attempts to undermine democratic structures within the country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration has proposed to reform aspects of Israel’s judicial system, including reducing certain powers held by the Supreme Court to check the power of Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset. 

Not excluding Israel and - maybe more importantly - not even condemning these actions seem at odds with the democratic values the Eurovision Song Contest purportedly upholds.

2 Apartheid System: Israel has established an apartheid system for the benefit of Jewish Israelis. Palestinians face military law, while Jewish settlers are subject to Israeli civil law.  Palestinians encounter countless checkpoints and a separation barrier, limiting their movement and access to essential services. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are a form of colonization, displacing Palestinian communities and reinforcing segregation. Unequal distribution of resources contributes to economic disparities. The blockade of Gaza with full control over entry/exit via land, air and sea. Palestinian citizens face systemic discrimination in housing, education, employment, and political representation.

How can an event claim to stand for solidarity and unity, while one of its participating practices discrimination and oppression on a daily basis? 

3 Anti-Democratic Government: The accusation of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice should be a wake-up call for the ESC organizers. More than 30,000 Palestinians, mainly children and women, have been killed. South Africa’s case against Israel includes severe claims such as mass killings of Palestinians, bodily and mental harm, forced displacement, blockade of food and medical supplies, destruction of the healthcare systems and the prevention of Palestinian births.

How can an event that claims to unite people turn a blind eye to such blatant human rights violations?

OUR CALL: BAN ISRAEL FROM EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

We call on the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest to take a principled stance.

Excluding Israel from the competition would send a clear message: the contest stands firmly against human rights abuses and adovcates for democracy, solidarity and unity.