The louder the outcry of international public opinion against the genocide in Gaza grows, the more the Israeli government and army are pleased to intensify their attacks and gratuitous displays of power and impunity. The Eurovision Song Contest, which has long been nothing more than an apotheosis of filth and filth, became on Saturday night, in this year's edition from Basel, a showcase for a cruelty that, with the addition of festival frivolity, became even more cynical and offensive. For many years, music has been the conspicuous absentee from a supposed song contest, devoted (like much of the current music industry) to insufferable squeals that oscillate between the most decadent melodrama and zombie dancing in a tourist disco. But, come on, it's all about costumes and sequins, and there's Eurovision for those who like it.
Now, the so-called game organized between the festival and the Israeli state over the performance of its representative was macabre: not only did Israel finish second in the ranking through televoting (a way to become the winner by cheating without actually declaring oneself the winner), but it also coincided with the continuation of the Zionist army's attacks against the civilian population of Gaza. On the same night of the festival, more than 100 people were massacred by bombing in the Strip, including 34 victims in a supposedly safe area like the Al Mawasi displaced persons camp. As almost always, a large number of those killed were children. As always, Israel justifies itself with routine, cold, false excuses: that there were Hamas terrorists hiding, that the people of Gaza themselves are using their children as human shields, etc. The massacre in the early hours of Sunday morning was not an isolated incident, but rather part of the ongoing genocide ordered by the Israeli government and condoned by the international community. But it served as a bloodthirsty response to the pressure of international public opinion, which in the days before had tried to prevent Israel from being allowed to participate in the competition. Not only did it participate (one of Eurovision's main sponsors is the Israeli oil company Moroccanoil), but it also issued threats, vetoes, and censorship against media outlets critical of Israel, finished second, and, most importantly, celebrated with another bloodbath.
Since October 2023, Israel has murdered more than 52,000 people in Palestine, forced a population of two million to live in continuous displacement, attacked hospitals, schools, and refugee and displaced persons camps, prevented the arrival of humanitarian aid, and starved people to death. All of these constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. In Spain, the Eurovision Song Contest had a peak audience of 59.7%, with more than six million viewers; in Catalonia it reached 63.8%, with more than one million viewers.
