The Eurovision Song Contest Used to Be a Lighthearted Spectacle – Yet It Has Become a Calculated Tool to Sanitize Conflict.
A freshly coined initialism surfaced a couple of months after the start of the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Known as WCNSF, it means “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This designation is found only in Gaza, as stated by doctors including paediatricians. Ordinarily, it is unusual for physicians to attend to a young patient who has been bereaved of their entire family. Yet, there has been no semblance of normality about the widespread destruction in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been obliterated and the number of child amputees surpasses that of any other region in the world. Nothing normal about scores of doctors returning from a sea of ruins with testimonies of children being systematically aimed at.
An Unimaginable Crisis Regardless of a Announced Cessation of Hostilities
Gaza remains hell on earth. Vital medicines and equipment are not getting in those in need, and groups like Amnesty International have stated that genocidal acts are ongoing. The Israeli government disputes these allegations, consistent with how it denies each claim it is accused of. Yet as traumatised orphans are now freezing in improvised encampments, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from advancing its declared purpose of “togetherness and artistic sharing.” The contest will continue to extend a welcoming platform for Israel, although several European countries have now withdrawn in objection. And this, it seems, is what international harmony looks like.
Eurovision, of course banned Russia from participating in 2022 because of the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza is treated differently.
A Selective Vision
Disregard the reality that Israel was alleged to have used unfair vote practices last year in what seems to have been an bid to manipulate Eurovision. Ignore the report that a toddler was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza recently. Forget the fact that aggression from Israeli settlers and coerced removal in the West Bank have escalated. Forget the fact that international journalists are still blocked from freely reporting in Gaza. None of this, it would seem, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.
The Contest Continues While Ignoring Unimaginable Suffering
The contest turns 70 next year – roughly two times the current lifespan of a person in Gaza at present. The show may go on, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. An institution that initially championed peace has devolved into a cynical way to whitewash war.
