Why I'm in favour of a Jerusalem 2019 boycott
Hello everyone! I'm sorry to have not posted in a while. I have been finishing up my University degree and am excited to be able to call myself a graduate. I normally wouldn't be too concerned about posting anything at this time. Normally, the country in question is making the decision on where the contest will be held whilst we in the fan community look up easy ways to travel and browse prices on everything. In Israel, we have arguably the most controversial host since Azerbaijan in 2012. This was in itself made more of a difficult situation when Netta and Benjamin Netanyahu both announced following Israel's victory in Lisbon that the contest would be hosted in Jerusalem, a move that makes things politically complicated for countries competing. As mentioned in my post on Eurovision, I expected the Israelis to choose to host the contest in Tel Aviv as it is the less controversial and more European of Israel's main two cities. However, the Israelis are clearly pushing hard for Jerusalem to host and that has attracted some backlash from the Eurovision community including the EBU. In this article, I am going to argue why countries should boycott the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest if it is hosted in Jerusalem.
I should start this article by saying the following. I am not Jewish, I have never been to Israel, the points that I outline here have come from a combination of my own research, conversations with people who have spent a lot of time in Israel and my knowledge as a Eurovision fan. I am respectful of all cultures and I am respectful of the right to the existence of both a Jewish state and an Arab one in that part of the world.
Firstly, it's clear to see why the Israeli political elite want to host the contest in Jerusalem. The 1980 Jerusalem Law refers to Jerusalem as Israel's 'undivided capital' and as such, they see it as their right to be able to host the contest in their capital as every host country has done since Sweden brought the contest to Malmo in 2013.
Other countries reacted negatively to the Jerusalem Law however and in 1980 when the law was put into place, thirteen embassies in Jerusalem returned to Tel Aviv where the original embassies in Israel were based. Most embassies currently exist in Tel Aviv for a very specific reason, countries don't want to get involved in the conflict between Israel & Palestine. One could make the argument that countries haven't had an issue with Eurovision being hosted in Jerusalem during the previous contests in 1979 & 1999. However, I would respond by saying that the Israelis have themselves noted that the contest has since grown and transformed in saying that the International Convention Centre (host venue in 1979 & 1999) is not large enough to host the contest. Countries coming to Jerusalem for Eurovision 2019 would be recognising the city as belonging to Israel.
Now, this would in itself be debatable as a topic for countries attending the contest or not, with the line considered grey in terms of whether attending the contest actually does mean recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital. What isn't a grey area is the killings of 60 people and the wounding of hundreds on May 14th, just two days after Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest. The timing of this event was a reminder to the world of the issues going on regarding use of excessive force from the Israeli government. Now, as a Sinhalese Sri Lankan, I completely understand that there is also a role that Hamas plays and that the media will usually try to report the news as being biased to one side without fully explaining the other side of what happened. Be that as it may, a country dealing with these issues should not be hosting an event as big and globally watched as the Eurovision Song Contest. If the shoe was on the other foot and a similarly important event was to be hosted in Sri Lanka during our civil war, I would agree that it would be inappropriate for it to take place.
One could make the argument that the Israeli people and broadcasters shouldn't be made to suffer for the situation of their country. To that, I would point out that that ship sailed on the night of the final when Benjamin Netanyahu posted the tweet regarding Jerusalem 2019. It's clear that the political elite in Israel will benefit from the tourism, increased publicity and attention that Eurovision will bring and they want to make sure that the light is shining on Jerusalem as "the great Israeli city". The truth is that there are many people in Israel who don't agree with the country's stance regarding excessive use of force against Palestinians or even the need for there to be a continued conflict between the two countries. Those people have been waiting for the international community to be a force for peace between the Israeli political elite and the Palestinian powers that be. Now is a chance for countries to make their views on the matter clear. A boycott says that they don't agree with the actions and attitude of the Israeli government in the matter of this conflict and that progress needs to be made from their end in terms of working towards a more peaceful two-state solution. There are definitely many people in Israel who would respect the international community taking this particular stance in this matter.
To look forward to the future, one of two things will unfold. Either countries will choose to boycott or they won't. If they don't, Jerusalem 2019 is set to be one of the most politically tense Eurovisions of all time. If they do and the EBU consequently follow through with their previous statement that they would move the contest, the result will be interesting. The show would surely get first offered to runner-up Cyprus. However, as previously reported on this blog, the Cypriots don't have a venue. Either the Cypriots would have to commit to erecting a temporary venue or they would have to put a temporary roof on one of their stadiums (either would be logistically challenging and expensive). I also don't believe that if Israel is stripped of the right to host that it would happen before August/September time. This wouldn't give the Cypriots much time to sort the venue out and it's not like they have the resources to throw money at the problem *cough* Baku. It is for this reason that if countries do start boycotting and Israel is stripped of Eurovision, we should all start planning a return to Vienna. I mean, don't get me wrong, Vienna is a lovely city and ORF have already proven that they are more than capable of hosting the contest but it would be a weirdly calm, safe and unexciting end to what will end up being the EBU's most tumultuous planning process.
What are your views? Where do you think Eurovision 2019 will be held? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe!
I should start this article by saying the following. I am not Jewish, I have never been to Israel, the points that I outline here have come from a combination of my own research, conversations with people who have spent a lot of time in Israel and my knowledge as a Eurovision fan. I am respectful of all cultures and I am respectful of the right to the existence of both a Jewish state and an Arab one in that part of the world.
Firstly, it's clear to see why the Israeli political elite want to host the contest in Jerusalem. The 1980 Jerusalem Law refers to Jerusalem as Israel's 'undivided capital' and as such, they see it as their right to be able to host the contest in their capital as every host country has done since Sweden brought the contest to Malmo in 2013.
Other countries reacted negatively to the Jerusalem Law however and in 1980 when the law was put into place, thirteen embassies in Jerusalem returned to Tel Aviv where the original embassies in Israel were based. Most embassies currently exist in Tel Aviv for a very specific reason, countries don't want to get involved in the conflict between Israel & Palestine. One could make the argument that countries haven't had an issue with Eurovision being hosted in Jerusalem during the previous contests in 1979 & 1999. However, I would respond by saying that the Israelis have themselves noted that the contest has since grown and transformed in saying that the International Convention Centre (host venue in 1979 & 1999) is not large enough to host the contest. Countries coming to Jerusalem for Eurovision 2019 would be recognising the city as belonging to Israel.
Now, this would in itself be debatable as a topic for countries attending the contest or not, with the line considered grey in terms of whether attending the contest actually does mean recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital. What isn't a grey area is the killings of 60 people and the wounding of hundreds on May 14th, just two days after Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest. The timing of this event was a reminder to the world of the issues going on regarding use of excessive force from the Israeli government. Now, as a Sinhalese Sri Lankan, I completely understand that there is also a role that Hamas plays and that the media will usually try to report the news as being biased to one side without fully explaining the other side of what happened. Be that as it may, a country dealing with these issues should not be hosting an event as big and globally watched as the Eurovision Song Contest. If the shoe was on the other foot and a similarly important event was to be hosted in Sri Lanka during our civil war, I would agree that it would be inappropriate for it to take place.
One could make the argument that the Israeli people and broadcasters shouldn't be made to suffer for the situation of their country. To that, I would point out that that ship sailed on the night of the final when Benjamin Netanyahu posted the tweet regarding Jerusalem 2019. It's clear that the political elite in Israel will benefit from the tourism, increased publicity and attention that Eurovision will bring and they want to make sure that the light is shining on Jerusalem as "the great Israeli city". The truth is that there are many people in Israel who don't agree with the country's stance regarding excessive use of force against Palestinians or even the need for there to be a continued conflict between the two countries. Those people have been waiting for the international community to be a force for peace between the Israeli political elite and the Palestinian powers that be. Now is a chance for countries to make their views on the matter clear. A boycott says that they don't agree with the actions and attitude of the Israeli government in the matter of this conflict and that progress needs to be made from their end in terms of working towards a more peaceful two-state solution. There are definitely many people in Israel who would respect the international community taking this particular stance in this matter.
To look forward to the future, one of two things will unfold. Either countries will choose to boycott or they won't. If they don't, Jerusalem 2019 is set to be one of the most politically tense Eurovisions of all time. If they do and the EBU consequently follow through with their previous statement that they would move the contest, the result will be interesting. The show would surely get first offered to runner-up Cyprus. However, as previously reported on this blog, the Cypriots don't have a venue. Either the Cypriots would have to commit to erecting a temporary venue or they would have to put a temporary roof on one of their stadiums (either would be logistically challenging and expensive). I also don't believe that if Israel is stripped of the right to host that it would happen before August/September time. This wouldn't give the Cypriots much time to sort the venue out and it's not like they have the resources to throw money at the problem *cough* Baku. It is for this reason that if countries do start boycotting and Israel is stripped of Eurovision, we should all start planning a return to Vienna. I mean, don't get me wrong, Vienna is a lovely city and ORF have already proven that they are more than capable of hosting the contest but it would be a weirdly calm, safe and unexciting end to what will end up being the EBU's most tumultuous planning process.
What are your views? Where do you think Eurovision 2019 will be held? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe!
I agree. Israel should be boycotted as a venue for the ESC, otherwise every country/artist taking part would be lending tacit support to a murderously bullying and brutal regime that continues to kill unarmed civilians, including children. Those that say we shouldn't bring politics into the ESC are naive and dangerous. Politics are part of everyday real life, whether it is family, work or world politics. If we don't stand up to bullies then we are complicit in what is happening. Of course the Israeli government will cry, "Antisemitism!", as they always do when they are criticised, but this is nothing to do with religious belief and everything to do with not supporting a bully state.
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