Belgian officials join demands to ban Israel from Eurovision

By Selen Valente

BRUSSELS (AA) - Top Belgian officials joined demands from European countries to ban Israel from competing in the Eurovision competition, according to media reports.

“Just as Russia was excluded from competitions and Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Israel should be excluded until it stops its flagrant violations of international law that have led to the deaths of thousands of people, including children” Minister for Childhood, Health, Culture, Media and Women's Rights of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Benedicte Linard, wrote Wednesday on X.

Linard said she would make a request to RTBF, Belgium's French-language radio and television broadcaster that is the organizer of the contest, according to media reports.

"As long as the war in Gaza continues, the onus is on the organizers to take responsibility for banning Israeli participation,” she said.

Linard's was supported by Flemish Minister for Brussels Affairs, Youth and Media, Benjamin Dalle, who said Israel should be banned from the competition as long as it continues to kill innocent civilians, including women and children, in Gaza, according to Flemish media.

"It is unacceptable that such a wonderful, unifying celebration should be held with a participant who violates international humanitarian law and children's rights on this scale," he said.

La Zarra, a Moroccan-Canadian singer who represented France in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, demanded that Israel be banned from the contest on Jan. 10.

"Unfortunately, we are once again facing massacres and genocide against the Palestinian people and attacks in the West Bank and Lebanon,” she said,

A total of 1,000 people in Sweden, including artists and music industry officials, signed a petition Jan. 10 that demanded Israel be banned from Eurovision.

The artists demanded that Sweden withdraw from the contest if Israel's participation was not blocked.

- Israel changed name, lyrics of rejected Eurovision song

Tel Aviv’s planned entry, October Rain, a song referring to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, was rejected by the European Broadcasting Union for its political message.

Israel made changes to the song and renamed it Dance Forever, but the song was also rejected for the same reason.

Israel then announced it would participate in the contest with the song, Hurricane.

*Writing by Zeynep Cetin in Istanbul