The Diplomat
Spanish MPs and MEPs, together with members of the European Parliament from other countries, mostly belonging to the group ‘The Left’, have signed a letter in which they demand that the Eurovision organization exclude Israel from this edition of the festival. year for its actions in the Gaza Strip.
Among the signatories of the letter, addressed to the general director of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Noel Curran, are the four Podemos deputies in Congress: the leader of the purple party, Ione Belarra, along with Javier Sánchez Serna, Noemí Santana and Martina Velarde.
Likewise, Podemos MEPs Idoa Villanueva and Esther Sánchez, as well as María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, who is part of Sumar’s executive group, sign the letter.
The text was joined by MEP Manu Pineda, from Izquierda Unida, Miguel Urban, from Anticapitalistas; and Ana Miranda, from the Galician Nationalist Bloc. Javier Nart, former Ciudadanos parliamentarian, also did so.
Along with them are around twenty MEPs, most of them registered in the group ‘The Left’, although there are also representatives of other affiliations such as the Greens, ‘Renew’ and ‘S&D’.
According to Podemos, the promoter of the initiative, the letter states that Israel is carrying out a “siege” against Gaza and a “genocide” against the Palestinian population, which is why it expresses its deep rejection of Israel’s Eurovision contest.
“These crimes are one more step in Israel’s offensive against Palestine, continuing the occupation that has lasted for 77 years and the apartheid regime and blockade of its territory,” underlines the letter, which recalls that the International Court of Justice is already investigating. about.
Later, the letter assures that there are “many voices” that have asked the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to exclude Israel from Eurovision in this year’s edition held in the Swedish city of Malmö, considering that “their participation whitewashes a regime that is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Palestine.”
They also add that in 2022 Russia was banned from the contest in response to its invasion of Ukraine, while in 2019 Iceland was sanctioned for displaying its representatives a Palestinian flag when the festival was held in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
The MEPs together with the Podemos parliamentarians add that Israel’s participation conflicts with the values defended by the EBU, which is why they express their “deep rejection of the whitewashing that the entity is carrying out of the participation of the apartheid and genocidal regime of Israel.” . In this way, they demand that the Eurovision organization be “coherent” and apply the “same standard” by reconsidering its decision to allow Israel to be in Eurovision.
“The EBU must fulfill its duty as a public entity, defend the right to information and guarantee respect for Human Rights. It cannot continue whitewashing a genocidal state like Israel, which in four months has murdered more than 26,000 people in Gaza “said Idoia Villanueva in statements sent to the media.
Since last week, Podemos has called for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest by rejecting the veto against Israel and has registered in Congress a non-legal proposal for the Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and RTVE to promote the expulsion from this country.
Last Monday, the spokesperson for Sumar and minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, did not advance his party’s position on the Podemos initiative in Congress and stressed that when they receive the purple text, they will analyze and evaluate it.
