“We believe in the unifying power of music, which is why we refuse to allow music to be used as a tool to whitewash crimes against humanity.”
More than 70 previous Eurovision participants have signed a letter calling on the event’s organizers to ban Israel’s public broadcaster KAN from the contest.
“KAN is complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people,” the former contestants said in a letter addressed to the European Broadcasting Union ahead of the Eurovision finals on May 17.
Mae Muller joined Salvador Sobral, La Zarra, Charlie McGettigan & dozens of former Eurovision contestants in calling on the EBU to ban Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, accusing it of being “complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza”. https://t.co/zUxyGaD4w3
— Artists for Palestine UK (@Art4PalestineUK) May 6, 2025
“We believe in the unifying power of music, which is why we refuse to allow music to be used as a tool to whitewash crimes against humanity,” the letter added.
They said that last year, “we were appalled that the EBU allowed Israel to participate while it continued its genocide in Gaza broadcast live for the world to see. The result was disastrous.”
Last Year’s Israeli Entrant
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Israel’s Eden Golan finished fifth in the 2024 competition. The report said that more than 56,000 people “had signed a similar petition calling for Israel’s ban from that year.”
Boycott Eurovision! https://t.co/gGC6ZXvtQ5
— YourFavoriteGuy (@guychristensen_) May 6, 2025
Iceland’s Association of Composers and Lyricists and 1,400 industry professionals across Europe also urged Golan’s suspension from the contest, the report noted.
“Rather than acknowledging the widespread criticism and reflecting on its own failures, the EBU responded by doubling down — granting total impunity to the Israeli delegation while repressing other artists and delegations, making the 2024 edition the most politicized, chaotic and unpleasant in the competition’s history,” the letter stated.
‘Silence Not an Option’
“Silence is not an option,” the artists stressed, adding that “When authoritarian movements and the far-right are on the rise around the globe, our duty to speak out has only become more pressing.”
They demanded that “the EBU’s complicity with Israel’s genocide must stop.”
I will NOT be watching Eurovision because it has allowed Israel to take part.
Israel needs to be shunned by all nations and international organisations, until it stops its genocide in Gaza and fully accepts the authority of international law. https://t.co/otxFr32aaT
— John Collins (@HangBlaa) May 6, 2025
By continuing to platform the representation of the Israeli state, “the EBU is normalising and whitewashing its crimes,” they said.
Russia’s 2022 Expulsion
The artists pointed out that the EBU has already demonstrated that “it is capable of taking measures, as in 2022, when it expelled Russia from the competition. We don’t accept this double standard regarding Israel.”
“As singers, songwriters, musicians and others who have had the privilege of participating in Eurovision, we urge the EBU and all its member broadcasters to act now and prevent further discredit and disruption to the festival: Israel must be excluded from Eurovision,” they stated.
Can anyone explain how #Russia was expelled from #Eurovision for invading #Ukraine while #Israel gets a pass after murdering 52,000 people and deliberately starving two million?
Fair play to the @RTE journalists who have called for end to complicity with the #GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/IsnREcy0zz
— Ciaran Tierney (@ciarantierney) May 7, 2025
According to a report by Artists for Palestine UK, the signatories include Gåte, the Norwegian band derided by the Israeli broadcaster in 2024 as “sons and daughters of Amalek,” which the movement said was “a biblical reference invoked by Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised call to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.”
“We were there. We saw what happened. We spoke to the EBU about it,” Gåte reportedly said.
‘Israeli Advocacy’
Artists for Palestine UK quoted Eran Cicurel, a KAN editor, as having admitted that Eurovision “has long been more than just a musical event; it is a critical arena for Israeli advocacy”.
🇮🇱 Israel — First Rehearsal Photos 📸
EBU pic.twitter.com/0d7PuJmLSc
— Eurovision News (@EurovisionNewZ) May 7, 2025
An Israeli entrant, Yuval Raphael, is to perform in this year’s competition with the final taking place in Basel, Switzerland, on May 17, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Over 50,000 Killed
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 52,000, wounding more than 118,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
Renewed Israeli Bombings Kill Civilians, Including Children, Journalist
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
Eurovision – poncing, wailing cats with their egos on stage. Previous contestants want the anti humans out. Oh, three cheers. What about the current contestants ? ? Not a word. This clapped out sideshow is exclusively for the golden billion
Perfect! The EU is a “clapped out sideshow is exclusively for the golden billion”