Eurovision Used to Be a Whimsical Delight – However It Has Become a Strategic Method to Whitewash War.

A new term emerged several months into Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Known as WCNSF, it signifies “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This designation is found only in Gaza, according to doctors like paediatricians. Ordinarily, it is uncommon for doctors to treat a young patient who has seen the death of their entire family. However, there has been no semblance of normality concerning the genocide in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been obliterated and the number of children who have lost limbs exceeds that of any other region in the world. Nothing ordinary in numerous doctors coming back from a devastated terrain with reports of children being deliberately targeted.

A Hell on Earth Regardless of a Announced Cessation of Hostilities

Gaza remains hell on earth. Critical healthcare resources are not getting in those in need, and major human rights organizations have stated that genocidal acts are continuing. The Israeli government disputes these allegations, just as it refutes all charges it is charged with. Meanwhile, while traumatised orphans are now suffering from the cold in improvised encampments, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from continuing with its declared purpose of “unity and artistic sharing.” Eurovision will continue to offer a welcoming platform for Israel, despite the fact that a number of European countries have now pulled out in protest. Since this, we are told, is what international harmony looks like.

Eurovision, of course excluded Russia from participating in 2022 due to the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza appears to be completely different.

Contradictory Principles

Overlook the circumstance that Israel was criticized for irregular participation methods last year in what appears to have been an effort to manipulate Eurovision. Ignore the report that a young child was reportedly killed in Gaza recently. Pay no mind to the evidence that attacks by settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have escalated. Disregard the condition that foreign reporters are still denied unfettered access in Gaza. All of this, it would seem, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.

The Show Goes On While Ignoring Staggering Tragedy

The contest turns 70 next year – almost double the projected longevity of a person in Gaza at present. The broadcast will air, but it will likely never recapture the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. A competition that was originally built on peace has transformed into a cynical way to provide a cultural veneer for conflict.