Israel and Eurovision

[Carly944]

I've seen all the protests that Israel shouldn't have been allowed to enter the Eurovision. I don't think politics should be part of eurovision

Has everyone forgotten that a lot of countries at this stage have invaded each other, and that a lot of countries have a bloody and violent past.

The United Kingdom invaded many countries and massacred and killed many many people in the past.

Germany have obviously started two world wars.

Spain have invaded countries and done a lot of brutality to people in the past.

Should none of these countries be allowed to enter eurovision then. If we are going to put politics into it, nearly every European country would be banned from eurovision.

Israel is far from the only country in the world that have invaded and massacred people. Its awful, but it has also been awful when other countries did it. And many of them have. So I'm not sure why there was just the call for Israel to be banned

It isn't eurovision though, if they want a worldwide competition start one.

@PeterGabrielsunderpants

You said
understand what you're saying. My view is that the Palestinians had, over the course of decades, simply reached breaking point, hence Oct 7th. How long would they be expected to endure their situation

I thought it wasn't the Palestinians but Hamas. Are you agreeing that the baying mobs were Palestinians and. not just Hamas terrorists?

If there is a chance that one hostage is alive then Israel has a duty to do everything they can to save them. Goldberg-Polin was shown in a video saying he had been captive for 200 days so every chance some of the hostages are sill alive. Despite his injuries he clearly wasn't "long dead" so if you were his mother, his father, his girlfriend would you be pressing the Israeli to have him released?

This. Also Israel shouldn’t even be in there to begin with. Neither should Australia.

Are you seriously saying “breaking point” justifies murdering civilians including babies? Be very careful what you write, supporting Hamas is illegal in this country

Who said they did it because they felt bad? They stuck to the agreement didn't they. You were the one saying they weren't to be trusted but as far as releasing hostages went they were to be trusted weren't they.

What you said is so entirely lacking in historical context that it’s meaningless, imo. As you say, facts can be so inconvenient can’t they?

If you think context is important do you feel the same about the context in regard to what drove Hamas to act they way they did? If it was OK for Irgun and Begin to go round murdering the innocent because of context do we give Hamas the same consideration?

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. x

Maybe tell Netanyahu?

It is Eurovision though. All the countries that have entered are eligible to enter. Like it or not, that's how it is.

Why is it an issue for you that not all the countries that enter are not European?

Please do not equate Jews with terrorism. It is the Israeli government.

I wouldn’t call the innocent people in Palestine “Hamas”.

You could tell him, drop him an email.

If you think context is important do you feel the same about the context in regard to what drove Hamas to act they way they did?

Yes. No one is going to achieve peace without doing that. There is a huge amount of history and context to consider, neither side (I don’t think there are “sides”, it’s not a football match, but as a shorthand) is operating in a vacuum.

@wellington77 No I'm not saying that

I was quoting @PeterGabrielsunderpants (I can't quote a quote on the app) although I suspect that might be what they mean

Well I do know

The Holocaust Memorial Trust have a very set series of definitions, and their definitions are adopted worldwide by governments, organisations etc. and it is in there

https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism

Sorry I meant to link them not you

Haven't RTFT but I voted for Israel and would do it again in a heartbeat.

If anybody thinks that threatening, harassing, and abusing a young woman in a song contest is any way to protest a country that went to war as a direct result of a terrorist group raping and massacring women then they deserve to have the public vote of go fuck yourselves handed to them on a plate.

Well they banned Russia, didn't they. So why not ban Israel. Incidentally, the Israeli contestant is dual citizenship with Russia and used to perform for Russia on Junior Eurovision. So yeah, it's hypocritical to ban Russia but allow her to participate for Israel but not allow Russia isn't it.

Hamas invaded Israel. Hamas started the war. Hamas is continuing the war by refusing to return hostages.

If anybody is Russia in this ridiculous comparison, it's Hamas, not Israel.

Ukraine is aware of this, which is why it supports Israel.

In the past couple of weeks, I did notice that every eurovision post and article was inundated with posts advising people how, and when to vote for Israel. Ads also popped up during this period in Times Square, on YouTube, all over the world telling worldwide Israelis how and when to vote. I did not see this from any other nationality. However I know many nations boycotted the Eurovision, so would not have been voting at all.

Now I see all these posts claiming that the strong public vote is evidence that the public support the Israeli actions... yes, even in Ireland apparently 😂 and I think 'clever move Israel. Nicely played'.

Doesn't change the fact that the Israeli song was clearly political in nature and sung by somebody who will shortly be fighting for her country. I felt bad for the other contestants being caught up in this.

There are plenty of accusations towards the Israeli team of bullying and harassment... and I think we will be hearing more of this when the dust has settled.

So yes OP, YABU. Also I've struggled to follow your objective during this thread. If any other country were currently, like Israel, deliberately targeting women, children, hospitals, and now refugee camps, in order to wipe out future generations of a specific nationality... I've no doubt they should also be banned from the Eurovision.

Yes, I watched it this year. I switched off for Israels performance though, and took the moment to discuss with my children why we should not watch.

It's just not true to equate support for Palestine with antisemitism. Absolutely not true. It's a really simplistic argument but two wrongs don't make a right. And that's what's happening here. I said earlier that I don't know what the average Israeli feels about the situation. But horror and disgust at what is happening in Palestine does not make someone antisemitic. It makes them a humanitarian. It's the same horror and disgust I felt about the attacks in Israel.

Here’s an article from
Human Rights Watch…..

And I have visited Auschwitz and was suitably haunted by it. I am not anti Semitic.