Voices in the EU Parliament: Bring Israel from ESC
Brussels – A petition in the EU Parliament demands that Israel be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest.
It is three Spanish members of the EU Parliament who have initiated questioning Israel’s participation in the ESC.
“Allowing a state under investigation for possible crimes of genocide to use Eurovision as a platform for whitewashing and cultural normalization goes against the spirit of this event,” write Estrella Galán, Jaume Asens, and Vicent Marzà in a letter to the European Broadcasting Union EBU. They want new clear rules on how participants can be admitted or excluded from the music competition in the future.
The petition is supported by Swedish EU members Jonas Sjöstedt and Hanna Gedin.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, who simultaneously presented new proposals for sanctions and trade measures against Israel on Wednesday, is, however, hesitant to do anything other than act directly against the Israeli government.
“I think any steps towards punishing the Israeli people are wrong,” Kallas responds to a question about Eurovision at a press conference in Brussels.
Israel’s participation has been debated in several countries. Ireland’s, the Netherlands’, and Spain’s television companies have announced that they will not send any artists to the ESC next year if Israel is allowed to participate.
(September 17)
