The Eurovision Song Contest Was Once a Whimsical Delight – Yet It Has Become a Calculated Tool to Sanitize Conflict.
An recent initialism came to light a couple of months into Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Known as WCNSF, it signifies “Injured child with no living relatives”. This designation is unique to Gaza, according to medical experts like child health specialists. Normally, it is uncommon for medical staff to attend to a young patient who has seen the death of their whole family. Yet, there has been nothing “normal” concerning the widespread destruction in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been eradicated and the number of children who have lost limbs exceeds that of anywhere else in the world. Nothing normal in scores of doctors returning from a landscape of rubble with accounts of children being deliberately targeted.
A Hell on Earth Regardless of a Announced Cessation of Hostilities
Gaza remains hell on earth. Vital medicines and equipment are failing to reach those in need, and groups like Amnesty International assert that genocidal acts are still being committed. The Israeli government disputes these accusations, just as it denies everything it is charged with. Meanwhile, while young survivors are now enduring frigid conditions in temporary shelters, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from continuing with its declared purpose of “togetherness and artistic sharing.” The contest will continue to roll out a blood-red carpet for Israel, although several European countries have now boycotted in dissent. Since this, it seems, is what global togetherness looks like.
Eurovision, of course prohibited Russia from participating in 2022 because of the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza seems completely different.
Contradictory Principles
Disregard the reality that Israel was criticized for questionable voting tactics last year in what seems to have been an effort to manipulate Eurovision. Ignore the report that a toddler was reportedly killed in Gaza recently. Forget the fact that aggression from Israeli settlers and forced displacement in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Forget the fact that foreign reporters are still denied unfettered access in Gaza. All of this, evidently, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.
The Pageant Proceeds While Ignoring Staggering Tragedy
Eurovision turns 70 next year – roughly two times the current lifespan of a person in Gaza today. The event will proceed, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. A contest that was originally built on harmony has transformed into a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.
