The Israeli Zionist State will also participate in the 2024 Eurovision Festival. Israel has participated 40 times in the music competition organised by the European Radio Union. In January, the organisers of Eurovision refused to reject Israel on the grounds that it is an “apolitical act”. However, in 2022 they decided to expel Russia, the day after it invaded Ukraine, saying it would “disqualify” the event.

The festival will be held this year in the Swedish city of Malmö and during these weeks numerous demonstrations and protests have been organised throughout the country against the presence of the Zionists. Over 1,000 Swedish musicians have demanded that Israel not participate in the “massacre in Gaza”.

Hundreds of European organisations and associations have joined the petition and, in the face of the organisers’ refusal, have called on viewers to boycott Eurovision. The Spanish public chain RTVE, for example, which is part of the organization of the festival, has received thousands of letters calling the boycott in recent weeks.

The Flemish TV workers put the message against Israel’s genocide on Thursday’s Eurovision semi-finals. Previously, two Belgian ministers had publicly stated that they believed that Israel should not be allowed to sing in Eurovision, while in Gaza the civilian still died.

Why is Israel in Eurovision?

Israel has been to Eurovision since 1973. Since then, the use of the event as a standardisation and laundering instrument of the Zionist State has been reported on several occasions. Although Israel is not in Europe, the Israeli public chain Kan 11 is a member of the European Radio Union. It is the association that brings together European public television channels and organizes the music festival. Eurovision has been held three times since 1973 in Israel, two in Jerusalem and one in Tel Aviv. In addition to the “only democracy in the Middle East”, Turkey and Australia are the non-European countries participating in the competition.

Eden Golan, representative of Israel in 2024

This year the Israeli singer Eden Golan will be the representative of the Zionists in Eurovision with the song Hurricane (Urakan). This song was not Israel’s first choice, but the festival organizers rejected the song October rain, arguing that being “political affairs” did not comply with the legislation of the initiative.

Golan, in an interview with an Israeli media, said that it is an honour to represent Israel in Eurovision, and that this year his participation has a particularly important meaning in “demonstrating who we are”. She confesses that she was surprised when she learned that some Eurovision fans don’t like Israelis, and says that “I didn’t know that was an opportunity.” In the same interview he says that, asked by the Israeli army, he has not yet registered, but that the first time he will be listed back from the music festival will be done. Because the provision of military service is a “mission”.

While Eden Golan was singing in Eurovision’s elimination phase, he receives protests and beeps on the Malmö taboo, as part of the boycott campaign against Israel’s participation.

Reviews of Pinkwashington in Israel

The Spanish State’s Solidarity Network against the Palestinian Occupation has denounced Israeli pinkwashing for another year. Warn that while Eurovision is presented as a benchmark for the LGTBIQ+ community, same-sex marriage in Israel is not allowed and trans people are not entitled.