Europa Press Madrid
Madrid
Updated Thursday, February 1, 2024-14:49
Opinion Israel should not participate in Eurovision
Benidorm Fest Inés Hernand: "I condemn Israel's attacks. They are the ones who murder, not me"
Podemos
demands in
Congress
that the Government, through the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
, and
RTVE
promote the expulsion of
Israel
from
Eurovision
, given its "indiscriminate" attacks against the Palestinian civilian population in
Gaza
.
This is what the purple formation proposes through a non-legal proposal registered for debate in the
Plenary Session of Congress
, after the call from various party officials, with its general secretary
Ione Belarra
at the helm, to boycott the musical festival by not vetoing it. the presence of
Israel
.
The initiative, signed by Belarra
herself
and co-spokesperson
Javier Sánchez Serna
, urges the chamber to "position itself clearly and clearly" against
Israel
's participation in
Eurovision
and for the Foreign Minister,
José Manuel Albares
, to promote the expulsion of this country in the contest along with other countries of the
European Union
.
In turn, it requests that
RTVE
, as a member of the
European Broadcasting Union
that organizes
Eurovision
, promote together with other public broadcasters that
Israel
exit the festival, as was done with
Russia
following its invasion of
Ukraine
.
In the explanatory statement of its non-legal proposal,
Podemos
states that
Eurovision
is an event of "unquestionable" social relevance that
has an important following in
Spain , as it is the non-sporting event with the largest audience on television.
At the same time, he highlights that the
EBU
sets out a series of values for
Eurovision
that participants must follow, such as the promotion of diversity, equality and inclusion, which are "incompatible" with
Israel
's participation this year, as "Colonial state" of Palestinian territory has worsened the conflict in the area and has increased the "systematic violation of international law."
"Apart from the fact that every day there are indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population that increase the number of murders, injuries and displacement, the dimension of human and material damage has reached levels of violence rarely seen," the Podemos parliamentary initiative delves
into
.
The example of Russia
In his opinion, it is "worrying" that a showcase like
Eurovision "serves to whitewash"
Israel
's actions
in
Gaza , especially when in 2022
Russia
was expelled
for its invasion of
Ukraine
.
Then, he criticizes that
RTVE
has limited itself to confirming its participation in
Eurovision
and has aligned itself with the official position of the
EBU
regarding the presence of
Israel
. Consequently, he reproaches that a state-owned entity must promote that the contest does not serve to "whitewash" a State "reported to the
International Criminal Court
as possibly responsible for a genocide."
In addition, he emphasizes that the head of the Spanish delegation at the festival,
Ana María Bordás
, is one of the members of the steering group in charge of organizing
Eurovision
, which adds to the chain of a "strategic" position to promote the expulsion. From
Israel
.