Live Eurovision Song Contest | Joost Klein and Israel to the final, Mustii is eliminated

About seventy activists, according to the organization, demonstrated simultaneously with the demonstration in Malmö, Sweden, at the main entrance of RTBF and VRT, which broadcast the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday evening. The action, organized by Intal and BDS Brussels, among others, criticizes the fact that the Belgian public broadcasters are allowing the broadcast to continue, despite the participation of Israel. Some activists even pointed to an alleged “complicity in genocide” by both broadcasters.

“While Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza, where more than 35,000 have been killed, including 14,000 children, and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is currently invading the city of Rafah, Israel is taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest,” said Florian Gillard of the Brussels BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, ed.).

According to Gillard, “several human rights organizations” contacted VRT and RTBF to ask them to withdraw the broadcast, after which both RTBF and VRT decided to allow the Eurovision broadcast to continue. “Today we express our dissatisfaction with that decision.”

The EBU, the organization behind the Eurovision Song Contest, has also previously decided to ban political messages and Palestinian flags during the Song Contest. “For us, that is a clear form of censorship,” Gillard said. “Why is a state that openly violates human rights and has been carrying out a genocide for months allowed to sing at the Eurovision Song Contest, while artists and the audience are not allowed to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people?” (belga)

The article is in Dutch

Tags: Live Eurovision Song Contest Joost Klein Israel final Mustii eliminated

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