Eurovision Was Traditionally a Lighthearted Spectacle – Yet It Has Become a Strategic Method to Whitewash War.
An recent initialism emerged several months after the start of the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Referred to as WCNSF, it stands for “Injured child with no living relatives”. This designation is found only in Gaza, according to doctors like paediatricians. Ordinarily, it is unusual for medical staff to treat a child who has been bereaved of their whole family. But, there has been absolutely nothing ordinary about the genocide in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been eradicated and the number of child amputees is greater than that of any other place in the world. No sense of normalcy about many doctors coming back from a landscape of rubble with reports of children being intentionally shot at.
A Hell on Earth In Spite Of a Announced Cessation of Hostilities
The Gaza Strip continues to be a profound humanitarian disaster. Vital medicines and equipment are failing to reach those in need, and groups like Amnesty International have stated that atrocities are continuing. Officials rejects these claims, just as it disavows everything it is charged with. Meanwhile, while young survivors are now freezing in makeshift tent camps, there is some ostensibly positive news: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from pursuing its stated mission of “unity and artistic sharing.” Eurovision will continue to extend a blood-red carpet for Israel, although at least four European countries have now pulled out in protest. Since this, we are told, is what international harmony manifests as.
Eurovision, of course excluded Russia from competing in 2022 because of the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza is entirely distinct.
A Selective Vision
Disregard the reality that Israel was criticized for questionable voting tactics last year in what appears to have been an effort to manipulate Eurovision. Set aside the news that a three-year-old girl was reportedly killed in Gaza recently. Forget the fact that aggression from Israeli settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Overlook the situation that foreign reporters are still blocked from independent reporting in Gaza. All of this, evidently, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.
The Contest Continues Amidst Profound Human Cost
The contest marks seven decades next year – roughly two times the current lifespan of a person in Gaza now. The event will proceed, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the camp joy it historically embodied. A competition that initially championed harmony has transformed into a cynical way to provide a cultural veneer for conflict.
