The Palestinian Authority called for boycotting the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and halting its promotional material because Israel is exploiting the event to conceal its colonization.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates sent several letters calling on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to withdraw any promotional materials for Eurovision, filmed in the occupied city of Jerusalem, to demonstrate respect for the rights of the Palestinian people and international law.
The ministry called on the Union to prevent Israel from exploiting this global event to conceal the “colonial reality in Palestine or cover up its practices of discrimination and persecution against the Palestinian people.”
The letters noted that EBU can influence global public opinion.
The promotional material published in the context of the Eurovision contest and approved by EBU is “unacceptable due to the cultural role it plays in normalizing occupation in the European and worldwide public opinion.”
The ministry explained that by accepting the occupation authorities' contest propaganda material, the EBU is implicitly recognizing and supporting Israel’s illegal policies, which systematically violate international and human rights laws, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, in contradiction of European Union foreign policy.
It emphasized that the message of Eurovision should be incompatible with the practices of colonialism and occupation.
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“EBU must reject all cynical attempts to politicize the Eurovision Song Contest, including the occupying power’s exploitation of the contest to normalize its unlawful conduct,” it stressed.
The Eurovision finals are to be staged in Tel Aviv from May 14 to 18.
Eurovision President Etyan Scwartz noted that about 10,000 tourists and 1,500 reporters will arrive in Tel Aviv to cover the event.
The contest is being held despite mounting calls for boycott and potential security threats.
On Friday, more than 100 French artists denounced holding Eurovision in Tel Aviv, citing Israel’s crimes, including the deliberate destruction last year of Gaza’s main performance and arts venue.
The artists, including Willem et Tardi, Ernest Pignon Ernest and Alain Guiraudie, called on France Television and the French delegation “not to bail out a regime that sends snipers every Friday against unarmed children in the Great March of Return in Gaza.”
“Self-respecting entertainment would not play in the land of apartheid. We would not have accepted it in South Africa and we don’t accept it for Israel.”
In January some 50 British celebrities, including singers Roger Waters and Peter Gabriel, wrote a letter calling on the BBC to press for the 2019 Eurovision contest to be relocated.
“In May, the BBC intends to screen Eurovision 2019 from Israel. Eurovision may be light entertainment, but it is not exempt from human rights considerations – and we cannot ignore Israel’s systematic violation of Palestinian human rights,” read the letter also signed by actors Julie Christie, Miriam Margolyes, and Maxine Peake, as well as directors Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, and playwright Caryl Churchill and Al Kennedy.
On Saturday, thousands demonstrated in central London to demand an end to the “unprecedented attacks” against the Palestinian people at the hands of Israel.
The Palestinian BDS movement, as well as artists, have called on the world to boycott the Eurovision concert in Israel.
Hamas threatened to disrupt the Eurovision ceremony, which is believed to have been a major reason for Israel's agreement to a truce with Gaza in wake of a recent flareup.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
