The Eurovision Song Contest Was Traditionally a Lighthearted Spectacle – Yet It Has Evolved Into a Calculated Tool to Whitewash War.
An new term came to light a few months into the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Labeled WCNSF, it stands for “Injured child with no living relatives”. This acronym is found only in Gaza, according to doctors like paediatricians. Typically, it is rare for doctors to care for a child who has seen the death of their whole family. Yet, there has been nothing “normal” concerning the genocide in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been eradicated and the number of child amputees surpasses that of any other region in the world. Nothing ordinary about numerous doctors returning from a landscape of rubble with accounts of children being systematically aimed at.
An Unimaginable Crisis Regardless of a Supposed Ceasefire
Gaza remains a profound humanitarian disaster. Essential medical supplies are not getting in those in need, and groups like Amnesty International have stated that genocidal acts are still being committed. The Israeli government has denied these claims, just as it denies everything it is charged with. Meanwhile, while grieving children who lost parents are now enduring frigid conditions in temporary shelters, there is a piece of uplifting information: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from advancing its declared purpose of “unity and cultural exchange.” Organizers will continue to offer a welcoming platform for Israel, even though a number of European countries have now boycotted in dissent. Because this, it seems, is what international harmony resembles.
Eurovision, of course excluded Russia from participating in 2022 over the “grave situation in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza is treated differently.
Contradictory Principles
Disregard the reality that Israel was criticized for questionable voting tactics last year in what appears to have been an attempt to politicise Eurovision. Forget the fact that a toddler was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza recently. Pay no mind to the evidence that settler violence and forced displacement in the West Bank have escalated. Forget the fact that foreign reporters are still blocked from freely reporting in Gaza. All of this, apparently, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.
The Show Goes On Amidst Unimaginable Suffering
Eurovision reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – roughly two times the current lifespan of someone in Gaza at present. The show may go on, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the pure, unadulterated fun it historically embodied. An institution that once promoted harmony has now become a cynical way to whitewash war.
