The Eurovision Song Contest Was Traditionally a Lighthearted Spectacle – But It Has Evolved Into a Strategic Method to Sanitize Conflict.
A recent term surfaced a few months after the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Known as WCNSF, it stands for “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This acronym is found only in Gaza, according to doctors such as child health specialists. Normally, it is rare for physicians to attend to a minor who has seen the death of their whole family. But, there has been absolutely nothing ordinary about the genocide in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been wiped out and the number of young amputees is greater than that of anywhere else in the world. No sense of normalcy in scores of doctors returning from a landscape of rubble with reports of children being intentionally shot at.
An Unimaginable Crisis In Spite Of a Supposed Ceasefire
Gaza remains hell on earth. Vital medicines and equipment are failing to reach those in need, and groups like Amnesty International have stated that genocidal acts are continuing. Authorities disputes these accusations, just as it refutes all charges it is implicated in. Meanwhile, while young survivors are now enduring frigid conditions in improvised encampments, there is a little heartwarming news: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from pursuing its stated mission of “togetherness and cultural exchange.” Organizers will continue to extend a blood-red carpet for Israel, even though at least four European countries have now pulled out in protest. And this, we are told, is what unity looks like.
Eurovision, of course prohibited Russia from taking part in 2022 over the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza is completely different.
Contradictory Principles
Forget the fact that Israel was criticized for unfair vote practices last year in what seems to have been an effort to politicise Eurovision. Set aside the news that a young child was reportedly killed in Gaza recently. Pay no mind to the evidence that aggression from Israeli settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Overlook the situation that foreign reporters are still blocked from unfettered access in Gaza. All of this, it would seem, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s cherished spirit of unity.
The Show Goes On Against a Backdrop of Profound Human Cost
The contest turns 70 next year – roughly two times the average life expectancy of someone in Gaza at present. The show may go on, but it will never be able to restore the pure, unadulterated fun it historically embodied. A contest that was originally built on peace has devolved into a blatant mechanism to whitewash war.
