Calls for Madonna to boycott Eurovision over ‘oppression’ of Palestinians
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A number of groups are calling on Madonna to cancel her planned performance at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in protest against the country’s treatment of Palestinians.
Madonna announced this week that she would be performing at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Tel Aviv on May 18. She is reportedly set to perform one well known song and one new song.
However, many are calling for Madonna to boycott the event as a part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) initiative. The movement encourages boycotts against Israel over the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Madonna has previously expressed support for Palestinians
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) led calls this week for Madonna to cancel her performance—for which she will reportedly be paid $1 million. They have joined the Jewish Voice for Peace in creating a petition asking the singer to boycott Eurovision.
In an open letter, the group said they hope she will “not undermine our struggle for freedom, justice and equality” by performing at the event.
In a statement released today (April 11) to PinkNews, Alia Malak of PACBI said that Madonna had previously expressed her support for Palestinians. She referenced an Instagram post from 2014 in which Madonna said she “loves” Palestinians and said she wanted “peace and no wall.”
Malak said: “Thousands of artists now publicly support the call from Palestinian artists and cultural organisations for the cultural boycott of Israel. Madonna’s announcement that she will cross Palestinians’ long-established picket line comes at a time when fewer and fewer major international artists are willing to perform to an effectively segregated audience under apartheid.
“We hope Madonna stands on the right side of history by refusing to let her music and image be exploited by a regime that desperately craves the whitewash Eurovision is offering.”
– Alia Malak of the PACBI
“Israeli snipers continue to massacre Palestinians, including children, in besieged Gaza every week, and the far right Israeli government has proudly announced it intends to enforce permanent apartheid and occupation against millions of Palestinians for the foreseeable future.
“We hope Madonna stands on the right side of history by refusing to let her music and image be exploited by a regime that desperately craves the whitewash Eurovision is offering.”
However, the decision to host Eurovision in Israel has also been defended by people including Stephen Fry, who say that the song contest is apolitical and shouldn’t be involved in the ongoing conflict.
Last year’s Eurovision winner Netta, who represented Israel, told the BBC: “[Eurovision] is all about building bridges, it’s all about celebrating diversity, being all these people from all these places on the same stage and saying, ‘Hey, we’re all the same and we’re celebrating all these ethnicities and all these kinds and types of music.’”
“It shouldn’t be political, it’s a disaster if it will be,” she added.
Israeli broadcaster KAN, which is producing this year’s show, said that it has received no money from the government to host the event.
