Eurovision 2019: The Call to Boycott.

The 2019 Eurovision Song Contest opens on Sunday, May 12th (12/5/19). With the traditional opening gala.

The First Semi-Final takes place on Tuesday, May 14th (14/5/19).

The Second Semi-Final takes place on Thursday, May 16th (16/5/19).

This all leads up to the Grand Finale. On Saturday, May 18th (18/5/19).

You can familiarise yourself with this year's competitors on the Eurovision website; https://eurovision.tv

However this year's Song Contest takes place in Israel. Prompting calls for the event to be boycotted.

In protest against Israel's conflict with Palestine. Along with Israel's treatment of its own Arab, Bedouin, Druze and basically anyone who's not Jewish population.

I cannot support those calls for a boycott.

Hosting the Eurovision Song Contest is not solely a prestige event. Like, say, Israel hosting the Argentinean football team in a World Cup friendly.

In fact, due to the cost, many nations view being forced to host the Song Contest more as a punishment than a reward.

Wherever it is held the Eurovision Song Contest is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War. It's purpose is to bring nations together to advance broadcasting technology.

The specific purpose of the Song Contest is to provide nations with a forum to raise any political issues or disputes it has with other nations. In order to resolve those disputes through dialogue. Rather than the conflict which had torn the continent apart.

So nobody is ever excluded from the Song Contest. Everybody is always invited and included.

If only so you can spend the entire week insulting those people to their faces. Provided you do it in a creative and not overtly political way.

At its founding the EBU included not just Israel but also many of its Arab neighbours. Such Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. However those nations went on to chose to exclude themselves. In protest at Israel's inclusion.

Boycotting the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest would be particularly ill advised. Due to how Israel came to host the contest this year.

As is the tradition Israel are hosting the Song Contest this year because they won the 2018 Song Contest.

The 2018 Song Contest was something of a subdued affair. Big on introspection and light of the traditional flamboyance and energy.

The reason for this was a series of mistakes made by the Song Contest community in previous years.

In 2016 Ukraine was crowned winner. Meaning they hosted the 2017 Song Contest.

This was intended as a poorly judged endorsement of Ukraine's racist and homophobic Nazi and Neo-Nazi militias. It was also an endorsement of Ukraine's entry that year breaking the competition's Golden Rule. Songs can't be overtly political.

Preparations for the 2017 Song Contest were fraught with problems.

Due to the newly emboldened Nazi and Neo-Nazi militias Ukraine was, and continues to be, in the grips of a vicious, ethnic Civil War. This created a security nightmare.

With the country awash with heavy, battlefield weapons any random drunk with a grudge could launch a major attack against the Song Contest.

Ukraine's corrupt government then privatised the country's national broadcaster UA:PBC. The Song Contest's host broadcaster. They did this thinking the EBU would then pour money into UA:PBC. And by extension their own, corrupt pockets.

When this didn't happen Ukraine's government then fired UA:PBC's Song Contest organising committee. Creating a real risk there would not be a host broadcaster to broadcast the Song Contest.

Then Ukraine's Nazi and Neo-Nazi militias blocked coal imports to the country. Triggering an energy crisis across the country. Creating a very real risk there wouldn't be electricity to power, let alone broadcast the Song Contest.

Finally Ukraine did the unthinkable. They excluded Russia's entry. Not just from the Song Contest but from the country itself.

No doubt worried that Russia would humiliatingly be crowned winner. As punishment for Ukraine's bad behaviour.

Amid the chaos of this "Spring Time For Hitler" the Song Contest community ended up crowning Portugal the 2017 winner. Meaning they would host the 2018 Song Contest.

That's despite Portugal's 2017 entry being little more than a plea that they're not forced to host the 2018 Song Contest. Still emerging from an economic collapse they didn't think they could afford it.

All this meant that at the 2018 Song Contest there was a distinct shortage of strong, enthusiastic entries. Everyone was focused on introspection and the question of how they all had got it all so wrong in previous years.

The exception was Israel. They had a big issue of their own that needed to be discussed.

In December 2017 US President Trump announced that America was moving its Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem. In effect recognising it, rather than Tel Aviv, as Israel's capital.

This announcement triggered universal condemnation. Including only the 11th time in history that the UN General Assembly has overturned a veto by the UN Security Council. In order to endorse a resolution condemning the move.

Amongst the Song Contest community the joke was that following that controversy Israel would have to go big in 2018.

Israel did just that. Literally. At the 2018 Song Contest they were represented by Netta Barzilai. Who is somewhat larger than your typical female popstar.

That alone triggered a debate about the way women are treated in the entertainment industry. A particularly relevant discussion in the post-Weinstein, #MeToo era.

If there was one main message to Israel's 2018 song; "Toy" it was a protest.

A protest against the way western politicians, particularly American ones, treat the Israel/Palestine conflict as a toy.

Something they can play around with for a bit. Then put down when they get bored. All with scant regard for the people who actually live there.

Trump's decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem being a prime example of that sort of behaviour.

At the Eurovision Song Contest the Israeli delegation actually have long history of being extremely critical of Israel. Particularly of its right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his even more Zionist allies.

January 2015 saw the Ile-de-France attacks. Including the Charlie Hebdo attack and the attack on the Hypercacher Kosher Supermarket.

This occurred in the middle of an Israeli election campaign. So Prime Minister Netanyahu travelled to France to transport the four Jewish victims for burial in Israel.

During this visit Prime Minister Netanyahu urged France's Jews to emigrate to Israel, to help expand the nation into Palestinian territory. Rather laughably claiming that Israel is the one place that Jews are safe from terrorism.

The Israeli Eurovision delegation's response to this was; "Golden Boy" by Nadav Guedj. A French born Israeli Jew.

The main message of the song was mocking Prime Minister Netanyahu's claim to be the Golden Boy of the Jewish people. The self-appointed leader of God's Chosen People.

Since then Israel and France have been locked in something of a bitter bilateral feud at the Song Contest.

In 2016 the Israeli Ministry of Tourism launched its "One Country: Two Cities" campaign. This billed Israel as a tourism destination which allowed visitors to visit both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. An attempt to boost Israel's claim over Jerusalem.

The Israeli Eurovision delegation's response to this was; "I Feel Alive" by IMRI. The video openly mocked the "One Country: Two Cities" commercials. Making it clear they loved just one city, Tel Aviv and only Tel Aviv.

At the 2018 Song Contest I think the Israelis delegation's plan was to finish second. They could then blame their very strong entry's failure to win on the backlash of protest over the US Embassy being moved to Jerusalem.

In hosting the 2019 Song Contest they seem to be acknowledging this. If Netta had been defeated in 2018 she would have lost to Cyprus' Eleni Foureira with "Feugo." Eleni Foureira has been invited to perform at the 2019 Song Contest as a special guest.

I think what tipped Israel's 2018 entry into victory is that it was written by Doron Medalie. He is famous for writing; "Tel Aviv Ya Habibi (Tel Aviv My Love)." This is the official anthem of Tel Aviv's Gay Pride Parade. It's lyrics mix Hebrew and Arabic together, in harmony.

So Israel's 2018 Eurovision Song Contest victory was a celebration of the peaceful, tolerant and inclusive element of Israeli society.

And protest against the intolerant, Zionist, expansionist element of Israel society which wants to make Jerusalem its capital.

It is a protest the Song Contest community is now taking right into Israel's house.

At around 17:55 on 5/5/19 (UK date) I'll pick this up later.

Edited at around 17:05 on 6/5/19 (UK date) to copy & paste from another tab;

The Eurovision Song Contest regularly attracts around 200 million viewers. Israel has a population of around 8 million people.

So from the moment it was announced they would be hosting the Song Contest in 2019 Eurovision has cast a dark shadow over Israeli society.

There was the initial issue over which city would host the event. Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

Israeli Zionists initially wanted it to be held in Jerusalem. In order to further strengthen their claim over the city.

However they soon realised that the Grand Finale would take place on a Saturday. The Jewish Sabbath.

Meaning if they wanted to use the Song Contest to boost the supposedly religious claim of Jerusalem being the capital of the Jewish state they would have to break the much better established religious rule against working on the Sabbath.

Eurovision did not agree to reschedule the event around the Jewish Sabbath. Meaning that Israel was forced to agree to hold it in Tel Aviv.

Israel has long operated extremely strict immigration controls. Denying entry to the country to anyone they deem to be a threat.

Through the emergence of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign this has recently become even more strict. Israel now not only denies entry to anyone who presents a risk of violence but also anyone who presents of risk of simply criticising Israel. Including many Jews.

What Israeli immigration authorities often do now is conduct an extensive search of visitors social media accounts. If they find any hint of support for BDS, even liking a Tweet or Facebook post, that person is refused entry to the country.

Eurovision has forced Israel to agree that this policy will not apply to people visiting Israel for the Song Contest. Including competitors, broadcasters and tourists.

As such a high profile event the Song Contest presents a significant security challenge for Israel. It provides a focal point and therefore inviting target in Israel's ongoing war with its Palestinian neighbours.

Although the Song Contest doesn't officially open until May 12th (12/5/19) competitors began arriving towards the end of last week. Ahead of the first rehearsals which began on Saturday (4/5/19).

Something you may have noticed for the welcoming fireworks put on by Palestinian groups in Gaza.

In terms of the actual threat to the Song Contest the risk is much lower than it was in Ukraine in 2017.

Although there are a lot of weapons on both sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict they are in the hands of organised armed groups, with clear command structures. In Ukraine those weapons were widely available to just about anyone. Making any possible attack much harder to predict and therefore prevent.

The security challenge presented by the Song Contest is that the Israel/Palestine conflict has been going on since 1948. It will likely go on for long after the Song Contest has moved on. That means that any security measures taken, or even discussed, have to be considered in terms of their impact on the wider conflict.

However I think it is safe to say that there are two main armed groups operating in Gaza. Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad were formed by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. However by 2017 Hamas had become appalled by the extremism of the Muslim Brotherhood and broke off ties with the group. Instead strengthening its alliance with Iran.

Islamic Jihad remained loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood. This has turned Gaza into something of a proxy for the war on Israel's other border - Syria. In Syria the Muslim Brotherhood nations of Qatar and Turkey are backing ISIL and Al Qaeda to overthrow the Syrian government which, like Hamas, is allied to Iran.

This past weekend's round of violence actually began last Sunday (28/4/19).

Islamic Jihad fired a rocket into the sea off the coast of Israel. Although they didn't come close to hitting it this rocket was aimed at Israel's offshore Tamar natural gas field. It marked the start of a week in which Turkey began illegally conducting offshore gas exploration off the coast of Cyprus.

The dispute between Greece, Turkey and Cyprus over Cyprus is the stuff of Song Contest legend. Or at least it used to be. Until Turkish President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan started boycotting the Song Contest.

Erdogan's ego is far too fragile to tolerate any form of criticism. Even the creative and not overtly political sort.

In response to that Islamic Jihad rocket Israel stopped fishermen in Gaza from going out in their boats. With fishing being one of the few industries still functioning in Gaza this massively increased anger at the Friday "March of Return" protests which have been taking place for more than a year now.

At Friday's (3/5/19) protest Islamic Jihad gunmen opened fire. Wounding two Israeli soldiers. This prompted Israel to conduct airstrikes against Hamas positions in Gaza. In response both Hamas and Islamic Jihad started firing rockets into Israel on Saturday (4/5/19).

By the time a ceasefire was reached early this morning (6/5/19) some 600 rockets had been fired into Israel and Israel had conducted some 300 airstrikes, often involving rockets, in Gaza.

This strikes me as a very unwise strategy for the Palestinians to undertake during the Song Contest.

The people who are participate in the Song Contest tend to be extremely sensitive, highly strung creative types. Unlike the populations of Israel and Palestine they are not used to coming under air raids. Although none of this past weekend's action has really come anywhere near Tel Aviv they all seem pretty terrified by this new experience for them.

It's likely that this fear will mean they'll leave Israel being extremely sympathetic to the poor Israelis who have to live under the constant threat of rocket attack. And much less sympathetic to the Palestinians who keep firing all the rockets.

As I've said Israel participates in the Song Contest because it is a member of the EBU. The specific Israeli organisation which is a member of the EBU is the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation known as; "Kan."

Frustrated by unfavourable coverage Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has long been at war with Kan. In 2018 he ordered the broadcaster to be broken up into two separate organisations. One providing entertainment content and another providing news coverage. Likely operated by his loyal friend Shaul Elovitch.

However in order to be a member of the EBU a broadcaster must be a public service broadcaster. Providing both entertainment content and news coverage. So in order for the 2019 Song Contest to go ahead Prime Minister Netanyahu has been forced to delay his plans to break-up Kan.

In what seems like a retaliation the Israeli government has refused to provide state funding for the Song Contest. Which is what typically happens. Instead Kan has been forced to take out loans to meet the cost of the Song Contest. Loans which may bankrupt the company.

At around 17:15 on 6/5/19 (UK date) I really don't know where I'll find the time to finish this up.

Edited at around 12:10 on 11/5/19 (UK date) to tidy up and copy & paste from another tab;

I think Israel's attitude towards hosting the Eurovision Song Contest can be summed up by the recent spy drama; "Douze Points." Broadcast on the Kan network.

This sees a gay Arab terrorist infiltrate a nation's Song Contest delegation. In order to carry out a terror attack during the Grand Finale.

I've not seen the show. However it seems like an attempt to subtly implant, in the minds of the Israeli public, that Eurovision is an Arab plot against and threat to them.

Funnily enough Israelis have hardly been queuing to snap up tickets to the Song Contest.

The nation whose Song Contest delegation is infiltrated is France. Playing on the recent Eurovision spat between France and Israel over rising anti-Semitism in France driving French Jews to migrate to Israel. Something Prime Minister Netanyahu was keen to exploit during the 2015 election campaign.

Being unaware of the TV show "Douze Points" the French public have selected a gay Arab to represent them at the 2019 Song Contest. Against the advice of France's professional jury who were aware of the TV show.

At the 2019 Song Contest Italy will also be represented by an Arab. So while sections of Israeli society might be trying to exclude Arabs the Song Contest community is working to make sure they are centre stage.

The Italian entry is sung in a mixture of Italian and Arabic. However English subtitles are provided on giant screens as part of the performance. I'm sure I don't need to remind veterans of the 2016 Song Contest, about the integration of Arab populations, of the significance of subtitles.

I honestly think that the Song Contest was a factor in Israel calling its recent, early election. An attempt to throw pressure back on the Song Contest community by forcing it to attempt to untangle Israel's borderline insane internal politics.

After all traditionally when it announces the result Israel's election commission doesn't announce Israel's next government. It simply announces the start of about a month of intense, barely comprehensible bartering and horse trading between Israel's political parties over who will form the next coalition.

In the run up to the election and to the Song Contest I've noticed that Israel's massively leftwing and massively pro-Palestinian English language newspaper Haaretz have tightened the paywall on its website. Making it that much harder for outsiders to try and untangle Israel's complex internal politics.

So if you are planning to boycott the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.

Then you are planning to boycott one of the largest protests against Israel seen in recent years.


12:25 on 11/5/19 (UK date).