Eurovision Used to Be a Whimsical Delight – Yet It Has Become a Calculated Tool to Whitewash War.
An recent acronym came to light a few months following the onset of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Known as WCNSF, it means “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This term is found only in Gaza, as stated by medical experts like child health specialists. Typically, it is rare for physicians to attend to a young patient who has lost their whole family. But, there has been nothing “normal” about the genocide in Gaza, where complete genealogies have been wiped out and the number of child amputees is greater than that of anywhere else in the world. Nothing ordinary in scores of doctors coming back from a devastated terrain with testimonies of children being intentionally shot at.
A Hell on Earth Despite a Announced Cessation of Hostilities
Conditions in Gaza persist as an utter catastrophe. Vital medicines and equipment are being blocked those in need, and international watchdogs contend that genocidal acts are continuing. The Israeli government rejects these accusations, consistent with how it denies all charges it is charged with. But while young survivors are now freezing in makeshift tent camps, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from pursuing its professed goal of “togetherness and artistic sharing.” Eurovision will continue to extend a prestigious stage for Israel, despite the fact that several European countries have now boycotted in dissent. Since this, we are told, is what unity looks like.
Historically, Eurovision prohibited Russia from participating in 2022 due to the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza seems treated differently.
A Selective Vision
Forget the fact that Israel was criticized for unfair vote practices last year in what appears to have been an attempt to inject politics into Eurovision. Forget the fact that a toddler was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza recently. Forget the fact that attacks by settlers and coerced removal in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Disregard the condition that foreign reporters are still denied unfettered access in Gaza. This entire context, it would seem, should be permitted to obstruct of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.
The Show Goes On Amidst Profound Human Cost
Eurovision turns 70 next year – roughly two times the projected longevity of a person in Gaza at present. The event will proceed, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. A competition that was originally built on togetherness has devolved into a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.
