Madonna is expected to perform at the final stage of the Eurovision song competition on Saturday. Israel massacred 62 Palestinians in Gaza, including six children just two days after its 2018 Eurovision win. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, has demanded a “non divisive” location for the 2019 Eurovision. Let’s get to 2,500! Calls to boycott Eurovision 2019 if hosted by Israel are spreading across Europe and beyond, including from former Eurovision winners, commentators and presenters, legendary artists, trade unions and political parties. Now Israel is hinting that Tel Aviv may be the host. In an open letter published Thursday, a group of over 30 Palestinian cultural centers and organizations from Gaza called for a global boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest, the enduringly popular international singing competition that will be held May 14 to 18 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Appeal to past and present Eurovision participants to speak out against Israel’s hosting of Eurovision. Help spread the word on the campaign to boycott Eurovision 2019 if hosted by Israel. He supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which wants a complete cultural boycott of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. Israeli singer Netta performs after winning the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal, in May 2018. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered "massive strikes" against Gaza militants, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, last Sunday; the BBC reported that according to the Israel Defense Forces, groups in Gaza launched nearly 700 rockets and mortars at Israel last weekend. Google+. ... Eurovision Tel Aviv 2019… Palestinian journalists are on the frontlines of Israel’s deadly attacks. Organize a local call of action to boycott Eurovision, gather support locally and nationally from artists, journalists, trade unions, civil society organisations and elected officials. Eurovision has survived despite all the political drama, and the U.S. largely ignoring it for decades. Get active and connect with a group in your country now! It's simple to get involved with the BDS movement today. Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miri  Regev issued an ultimatum: “if the Eurovision isn’t in Jerusalem, it shouldn’t be in Israel.”, Upon Israel’s win in the 2018 Eurovision, Israeli Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, who called for genocide against Palestinians, said that celebrations “began with Netta Barzilai’s victory, which assured that Eurovision is coming to the capital next year, and continues tomorrow with the move of the American embassy to Jerusalem.”. Brand Israel aims to “improve the country’s image abroad”  by “avoiding any discussion of the conflict with the Palestinians” and representing the country “as relevant and modern rather than only as a place of fighting and religion.”. This is not the first time that Eurovision's glitter has gotten swept up in geopolitics. We ask for people of conscience around the world to heed our call for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Apartheid Israel just as they did to help bring down Apartheid in South Africa," the group writes. It was interpreted as a criticism of the government of Turkey, which has continually rejected Armenians' claims that the atrocities of 1915 — in which as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed or deported in a wave of violence spurred by Ottoman Turks — were a genocide against their people. Israel should not be hosting Eurovision Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy confirmed to Reuters on Friday that it was responsible for the site. The 2019 incarnation of … Ireland's Eurovision hopeful Sarah McTernan has addressed calls for a boycott of this year's event in Tel Aviv, Israel, saying that music is about "love and friendship and bringing people together". Since Eurovision 2019 was announced last year, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has called on international artists … Straight out of apartheid South Africa’s propaganda playbook, Israel uses the arts to explicitly deflect growing condemnations of its violations of Palestinian human rights. It regularly denies Palestinian artists their right to travel, both within the occupied Palestinian territory and abroad, detains performers without charge or trial, and has repeatedly raided Palestinian festivals and closed down Palestinian cultural centers. Your subscription could not be saved. We urge songwriters and performers to boycott the 2019 contest hosted by Israel just as they once boycotted the apartheid regime in South Africa. Boycott Eurovision 2019. Australia’s Kate-Miller Heidke will take to the Eurovision stage in Tel-Aviv for the first semi-final on Wednesday. Pinkwashing is part of Israel’s Brand Israel strategy. William Lee Dams, editor of popular Eurovision blog, comments to the Associated Press: "There is a greater concern this year than any other year I can remember about the political backdrop surrounding Eurovision. Worldwide, the Eurovision finals broadcasts continue to be a huge draw. Israel is using Eurovision to art-wash its egregious crimes against the Palestinian people. Boycott Eurovision 2019. Holding Eurovision 2019 in Israel will serve to art-wash Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights. I agree to receive your newsletters and accept the data privacy statement. Exploiting Eurovision’s popularity among LGBTQ fans, Israel’s “best ambassador,” Barzilai, was quickly enlisted in Israel’s Pinkwashing efforts. EUROVISION 2019 has sparked anti-Eurovision and pro-Palestinian protests in Israel urging fans to boycott the event. Strategic BDS campaigns are building mass public support and having a real impact. Join more than 35,000 people and sign the petition to boycott Eurovision hosted by Israel! Inspired by conscientious artists who shunned Sun City in apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, Palestinian artists and cultural organizations have called for nonviolent pressure in the form of boycotts on Israel until it complies with its obligations under international law. Is a North America version in the works? Eurovision 2019: Stephen Fry and Sharon Osbourne among celebrities denouncing proposed boycott. Stephen Fry and Sharon Osborne are among the stars to have rejected calls for a boycott of the upcoming Eurovision song contest. "Even when Israel bombs us, imprisons our men, women and children, kills and maims thousands of Palestinian protesters ... and does everything to silence our voices, we will continue to sing. Micheal Mac Donncha has called for Ireland to boycott Eurovision 2019 in Israel in solidarity with the people of Palestine. By Millie Bull PUBLISHED: 03:04, Sun, May 19, 2019 Published on Jan 31, 2019 50 cultural giants including Vivienne Westwood have called for the BBC to boycott Eurovision 2019 in Israel. Calls to boycott Eurovision if hosted by Israel are already spreading across Europe and beyond. Par. Eurovision Returns To Glitz, Politics And Censorship, Eurovision Again Struck By Controversy As Russia Says It Won't Broadcast. In February, London Palestine Action released a song in support of the Palestinian call for the boycott of Eurovision 2019, which will be taking place in Israel later this year.Since then the News Brian Eno: Israel must not be allowed to use Eurovision as a propaganda tool Share the campaign on social media. Many Eurovision fans build their whole year around a trip to Eurovision, and just given the nature of what's going on their ideal has been tarnished.". British cultural figures including Vivienne Westwood, Peter Gabriel and Mike Leigh have signed a letter calling on the BBC to cancel coverage of this year’s Eurovision song contest because it … But if the Lord Mayor of Dublin has anything to do with it, the next time we see Ireland at Eurovision will be in 2020. Kathy McCubbing started this petition to Jon Oland Sand Executive Supervisor Eurovision Song Contest. That was organised by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which urges a complete boycott of Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians. "Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people is … Best people… the best place in the world.”. Sign-up for news, campaign updates, action alerts and fundraisers from the BDS movement. Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid, apartheid South Africa’s propaganda playbook, Israel’s attacks against Palestinian artists, Israel’s attacks against Palestinian journalists, compared African asylum seekers to cancer and incited mob violence, BDS @ 14: Hope in the face of Israeli apartheid, And the winner of Eurovision in apartheid Tel Aviv is…. 54 likes. Israel accused the militant group Islamic Jihad of instigating the violence after saying the group shot and wounded two Israeli military officers on May 3. People will see “how wonderful we are, what a vibe we have. Eurovision, le chant du boycott - 28 minutes - ARTE 28 minutes - ARTE. On 14 May 2018, Yaakov Litzman, leader of the ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism and Israel's former Minister of Health, drafted a letter to the Ministers of Tourism, Communications, and Culture and Sports, in which he requested the event not violate religious laws: "In the name of hundreds of thousands of Jewish citizens from all the populations and communities for whom Shabbat(the holy sabbath) observance is close to their hearts, I appeal to you, already at this early stage, before production and al… (On Tuesday, several of those stars signed yet another petition, urging the BBC to push for the 2019 Eurovision song contest to be moved out of Israel, ... And on the boycott question, undecideds accounted for 28 percent of respondents aged 16 to 29 – the largest proportion of … For example, visitors to the recently launched website BoycottEurovision.net are greeted with the headline "Welcome to the true story of BDS: Beautiful, Diverse, Sensational Israel." The Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, justice and equality needs your support. Shortly after her win, Barzilai said she looked forward to the world seeing “the Israeli carnival” when Jerusalem hosts the contest next year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Barzilai “the best ambassador of Israel,” underlining his far-right government’s art-washing agenda. Those calling for boycott include former Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan; Irish broadcaster and former Eurovision commentator Mike Murphy; former Eurovision presenters Carrie Crowley and Doireann Ni Bhriain; artist and Riverdance set designer Robert Ballagh; Irish musical legends Christy Moore, Mary Black, Paul Brady, Andy Irvine, Frances Black, Donal Lunny, Honor Heffernan, Cormac Breatnach, Dee Armstrong and Steve Wall. Israel is shamelessly using Eurovision as part of its official Brand Israel strategy, which presents  “Israel’s prettier face” to whitewash and distract attention from its war crimes against Palestinians. In an open letter published Thursday, a group of over 30 Palestinian cultural centers and organizations from Gaza called for a global boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest… The singing contest falls exactly a year after Israeli troops massacred more than 60 protesters in Gaza. Before the 2017 contest, held in Ukraine, Russia announced it would not broadcast the competition after the host country asserted that Russia's entrant, a singer named Yuliya Samoylova, would not be allowed to enter Ukraine, because she had previously toured Crimea. Boycott calls emerge in the UK, Sweden, Malta, Australia and the Spanish state, with growing public discontent reverberating across Europe. Following Israel’s win by Netta Barzilai last year, it was decided that the 2019 event would take place in its capital, Tel Aviv. Activists in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement on Saturday rejected a pro-Palestinian gesture from Iceland’s entry into the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. You'll see the prices and say, 'What?!' The Musicians Union of Ireland and Irish Equity, the trade union for actors, dancers, directors, and stage and set builders/designers, endorse the call to boycott Eurovision 2019. Twitter. Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev, who in 2012, Of Iceland's population sign a petition to boycott Eurovision 2019. hide caption. Jerusalem (CNN) Madonna intends to perform at … Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto/Getty Images “Brand Israel” is an Israeli government public relations strategy that was initiated in 2005. In a Eurovision teaser video released Thursday by Israel's KAN Broadcasting Corporation (the public, state-broadcast network, which is also carrying the singing contest), the two main performers — a man who introduces himself as Russian Jewish and the other a half-Jewish, half-Israeli Arab woman named Lucy Ayoub, one of the Eurovision hosts this year — sing to a pair of befuddled tourists: "I know just what you heard, that it's a land of war and occupation / But we're so much more than that. Across Europe, tens of thousands of people have signed petitions urging broadcasters, singers and songwriters to boycott Eurovision hosted by Israel. On June 7, Israeli culture minister Miri Regev insisted that “if [Eurovision] can’t be in Jerusalem – we shouldn’t host it.” Three days later, the Israeli government sidelined her and dropped its demand to hold Eurovision in Jerusalem, moving to an open tender process instead. 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