Eurovision Was Once a Lighthearted Spectacle – But It Has Become a Strategic Method to Whitewash War.
A new initialism surfaced a couple of months into the military campaign against Gaza. Labeled WCNSF, it stands for “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This designation is found only in Gaza, according to doctors including child health specialists. Typically, it is unusual for medical staff to attend to a young patient who has seen the death of their whole family. Yet, there has been no semblance of normality regarding the widespread destruction in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been eradicated and the number of children who have lost limbs is greater than that of any other place in the world. Nothing ordinary in many doctors coming back from a landscape of rubble with reports of children being intentionally shot at.
A Hell on Earth In Spite Of a Reported Truce
The Gaza Strip continues to be an utter catastrophe. Vital medicines and equipment are failing to reach those in need, and groups like Amnesty International have stated that violations are still being committed. The Israeli government has denied these accusations, consistent with how it refutes each claim it is implicated in. Yet as traumatised orphans are now suffering from the cold in makeshift tent camps, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from continuing with its stated mission of “unity and cultural exchange.” The contest will continue to roll out a blood-red carpet for Israel, although several European countries have now boycotted in dissent. And this, apparently, is what global togetherness looks like.
Eurovision, of course banned Russia from participating in 2022 due to the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza seems treated differently.
A Double Standard
Overlook the circumstance that Israel was criticized for questionable voting tactics last year in what appears to have been an effort to inject politics into Eurovision. Forget the fact that a three-year-old girl was reportedly killed in Gaza just days ago. Forget the fact that settler violence and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Overlook the situation that international journalists are still denied freely reporting in Gaza. None of this, evidently, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s cherished spirit of unity.
The Pageant Proceeds While Ignoring Staggering Tragedy
Eurovision reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – roughly two times the projected longevity of someone in Gaza at present. The broadcast will air, but it will never be able to restore the pure, unadulterated fun it was formerly known for. A contest that once promoted togetherness has now become a blatant mechanism to whitewash war.
