The musician was seen wearing a keffiyeh on his arm, a symbol commonly used to show support for Palestine.

In reponse, a representative of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a statement: “All performers are made aware of the rules of the contest, and we regret that Eric Saade chose to compromise the non-political nature of the event.”

Despite facing criticism for its decision not to exclude Israel and worldwide protests condemning the organizers’ choice, the competition maintained its stance.

“Politics does influence the event from time to time,” said Paul Jordan, a contest enthusiast and researcher who was part of its communications team from 2015 to 2018, in an interview with CNN.

However, he noted, “the presence of Israel has become such a big issue (that) I think it’s going to overshadow the event.”

The news comes during Israel’s seizure and closure of the Rafah crossing in Gaza, which has raised concerns that already-scarce food and medical supplies will be further depleted and lead to a “catastrophic” humanitarian disaster.

  • CAVOK@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Typical no win situation. Can’t pick a side without being criticised, can’t not pick a side for the same reason.

    Only thing that both the Israeli government and Hamas can agree on is that the Palestinian people is expendable.

    • Specal@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      You can’t claim to be non political and kick Russia out for invading Ukraine but let Israel stay in while committing genocide.

      That in itself is a political statement.

      • CAVOK@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Russia wasn’t kicked out for invading Ukraine, just to be clear. Russia was kicked out because they no longer have a free press, which is a requirement for participation.

        You can call it a pretense if you want, but that’s the official reason, not the war.

          • CAVOK@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Place 101 on the press freedom index. Just below Madagascar. “Problematic” is the grade, so yes, but not without issues?

    • NeuronautML@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      Can’t live your life sitting on the fence being friends with everyone. You gotta embrace your values and accept the consequences that some people will disdain you for it. If you can live with both the disdain and your consciousness, then you’ve picked the right place, i believe.

      Fences are for birds.

    • Not_mikey@slrpnk.net
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      8 months ago

      Hamas values Palestinians way more than israel, at least they signed a ceasefire deal to try and stop raffah from being bombed, while Israel ignored it and started bombing any way.

      Both sides all you want, but one side has been pushing for a ceasefire for months, returning the hostages for a permanent stop to the slaughter, and one side has been ignoring those calls to continue there genocide.

      • CAVOK@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Hamas attacked Israel, counting on the response being disproportionate and bloody. They wanted dead Palestinians and the Israeli government complied.

        Hamas aren’t the good guys here. Neither is the Israeli government, just to be clear.

        • cybersin@lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          Hamas attacked Israel, counting on the response being disproportionate and bloody. They wanted dead Palestinians

          Yeah bro, they really just wanted to murder-suicide their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters Jonestown style. Trust me bro, they got what they deserved, bro.

          It is disgusting to suggest they wished for the massacre of their people.

          • CAVOK@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Do you think that Hamas are so inept that they didn’t know what was going to happen after Oct 7? No, they knew, and counted on it to get support and to wreck any goodwill Israel had with their neighbours and the world.

            Don’t take me writing this as support for Israel. I hate their right wing fascist government as much as I hate the terrorists in Hamas.

            There are no good guys in this, and both are fine with the killing of innocent civilians.

            • cybersin@lemm.ee
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              8 months ago

              I’d say the scale of civilian death achieved through the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is so extreme, it could not have been foreseen. It is a vastly disproportionate response.

              No, they knew, and counted on it to get support and to wreck any goodwill Israel had with their neighbours and the world.

              This is just wrong. The western powers have unwaveringly supported Israel from the beginning. Only just recently has the US decided to perhaps reduce the weapon shipments to Israel, after vast destruction and loss of life has already occurred.

              • CAVOK@lemmy.world
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                8 months ago

                I’d say the scale of civilian death achieved through the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is so extreme, it could not have been foreseen. It is a vastly disproportionate response.

                Agreed that it’s disproportionate. Somewhat conflicted on the “deliberate targeting” as I think it’s more of a “don’t care as long as we also hit something that might be Hamas”. Still certain that Hamas knew what would happen and already had a plan to use it for propaganda purposes.

                This is just wrong. The western powers have unwaveringly supported Israel from the beginning. Only just recently has the US decided to perhaps reduce the weapon shipments to Israel, after vast destruction and loss of life has already occurred.

                Israel already have all the weapons they need to flatten Gaza completely. Hamas tactics are kind of working though. Although most western governments support Israel, this is causing internal issues (protests etc) in those countries, which weakens those governments, which will translate to less support for Israel. I suspect it won’t do much in the short term, except perhaps strengthen the resolve of the Israeli government, which will only translate into more suffering for the Palestinian people.

                The only people who can stop this suffering is the Israeli and Palestinian people, which they were trying to do before all this kicked off, and likely one of the reasons why one of the most pro-Palestine kibbutzes (Be’eri?) was hit so hard. Both Hamas and the Israeli government gain from this conflict, sickening as it is.

                • cybersin@lemm.ee
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                  8 months ago

                  Somewhat conflicted on the “deliberate targeting”

                  Intentionally striking hospitals, aid workers, journalists, and families in their homes, is the deliberate targeting of civilians.

                  Still certain that Hamas knew what would happen and already had a plan to use it for propaganda purposes.

                  When a faction commits war crimes, the propaganda writes itself.

                  Israel already have all the weapons they need to flatten Gaza completely.

                  Yet the US continues to send military equipment and munitions.

                  The only people who can stop this suffering is the Israeli and Palestinian people

                  Not entirely. Israel relies heavily on foreign (US) capital. Threat of divestment and/or sanctions would likely be quite effective.