Eurovision Was Traditionally a Campy Joy – But It Has Become a Calculated Tool to Whitewash War.
An recent initialism surfaced a couple of months after the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Referred to as WCNSF, it signifies “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This acronym is found only in Gaza, per insights from doctors such as paediatricians. Normally, it is rare for doctors to care for a young patient who has seen the death of their entire family. But, there has been nothing “normal” about the genocide in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been wiped out and the number of child amputees is greater than that of anywhere else in the world. Nothing normal about scores of doctors coming back from a devastated terrain with reports of children being systematically aimed at.
A Living Nightmare In Spite Of a Reported Truce
Conditions in Gaza persist as hell on earth. Vital medicines and equipment are not getting in those in need, and major human rights organizations contend that atrocities are continuing. Officials rejects these allegations, just as it refutes each claim it is accused of. Yet as young survivors are now freezing in makeshift tent camps, there is some ostensibly positive news: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from continuing with its stated mission of “unity and cultural exchange.” Organizers will continue to offer a blood-red carpet for Israel, although a number of European countries have now pulled out in protest. And this, it seems, is what unity manifests as.
Historically, Eurovision excluded Russia from competing in 2022 over the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza appears to be entirely distinct.
A Double Standard
Disregard the reality that Israel was criticized for irregular participation methods last year in what could be seen as an bid to inject politics into Eurovision. Ignore the report that a three-year-old girl was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza on a recent Sunday. Pay no mind to the evidence that attacks by settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have surged. Overlook the situation that foreign reporters are still prevented from independent reporting in Gaza. None of this, it would seem, should be permitted to obstruct of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.
The Show Goes On Amidst Staggering Tragedy
The contest reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – nearly twice the current lifespan of someone in Gaza today. The broadcast will air, but it will likely never recapture the pure, unadulterated fun it historically embodied. An institution that was originally built on harmony has now become a blatant mechanism to sanitize military aggression.
