The Eurovision Song Contest Was Traditionally a Whimsical Delight – Yet It Has Become a Cynical Way to Gloss Over Warfare.
A recent initialism came to light a couple of months after the start of the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Labeled WCNSF, it stands for “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This acronym is specific to Gaza, as stated by medical experts including paediatricians. Ordinarily, it is unusual for physicians to care for a child who has seen the death of their entire family. But, there has been nothing “normal” about the widespread destruction in Gaza, where complete genealogies have been obliterated and the number of child amputees surpasses that of anywhere else in the world. No sense of normalcy in scores of doctors arriving back from a sea of ruins with testimonies of children being intentionally shot at.
A Hell on Earth In Spite Of a Announced Cessation of Hostilities
Conditions in Gaza persist as a profound humanitarian disaster. Essential medical supplies are not getting in those in need, and major human rights organizations assert that genocidal acts are still being committed. The Israeli government rejects these accusations, just as it denies everything it is accused of. Meanwhile, while traumatised orphans are now enduring frigid conditions in improvised encampments, there is some ostensibly positive news: apparently nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from pursuing its declared purpose of “togetherness and cultural exchange.” Eurovision will continue to extend a prestigious stage for Israel, although at least four European countries have now withdrawn in objection. Since this, apparently, is what global togetherness looks like.
Eurovision, of course banned Russia from taking part in 2022 due to the “grave situation in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza appears to be completely different.
A Selective Vision
Forget the fact that Israel was criticized for irregular participation methods last year in what seems to have been an effort to manipulate Eurovision. Set aside the news that a young child was reportedly killed in Gaza just days ago. Pay no mind to the evidence that attacks by settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have surged. Disregard the condition that international journalists are still blocked from unfettered access in Gaza. This entire context, apparently, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.
The Pageant Proceeds Against a Backdrop of Unimaginable Suffering
The contest marks seven decades next year – almost double the average life expectancy of someone in Gaza now. The show may go on, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. An institution that once promoted harmony has devolved into a transparent instrument to whitewash war.
