One of those who does not want to see Israel on the TV screen in May when the music festival begins, is actor Janne Heltberg. – Israeli authorities kill 129 children every day in Gaza. It is absurd to give them the opportunity to participate in such a folk festival while they are being investigated for genocide in The Hague, says Heltberg in Debatten on news this evening. Heltberg was one of several who showed up outside news’s headquarters to demonstrate against Israel’s participation in this year’s Eurovision Photo: Hanna Johre She is referring to the hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) which began today, where South Africa has filed a complaint against Israel to commit genocide in Gaza. There, South Africa presented its arguments that Israel is committing genocide, on Friday it is Israel’s turn to respond. As part of the opening statement in the UN court in The Hague, South Africa claimed, among other things, that Israel has knowingly and willfully created unlivable conditions in the Gaza Strip. No country has advocated banning Israel from the music festival, Heltberg wants to change that. – news must take the initiative in the EBU. Let’s be brave and be the ones to start that conversation. Noa Kirel was Israel’s participant in 2023. Photo: Martin Meissner / AP She believes that a Norwegian initiative to ban Israel from the festival could lead to more countries making the same demands. – There is great support in many Nordic countries for banning Israel, including in Finland and Iceland, she says and refers to the rebellion among musicians in the two countries who want Israel out of Eurovision. – An exclusion of Israel will only exclude Jews globally, says the artist Natalie Aldema. Photo: Faksimile / news Aldema: – Boycott will not stop the war The artist Natalie Aldema does not agree with Heltberg, and does not want Israel to be banned from this year’s Eurovision. – I don’t think preventing Israel from participating will stop the war. It will not play a role at all in the tragic situation in Gaza, she says to news. She further says that Israel has undergone a national trauma as a result of the terrorist attack on 7 October, and that this year’s participation is all the more important for the country. – Music should bring people together, act as a conciliator. It should not be used to ban people and countries. – This will also exclude Jews globally, says Aldema. MGP artist MIIA and jazz musician Natalie Aldema have different views on Israel’s participation in Eurovision. Negatives to Israeli participation in 2024 started, among other things, when 1,300 Finnish musicians joined together in a joint petition, where they demand that the broadcaster Yle puts pressure on the organizers behind the Eurovision Song Contest to prevent Israeli participation. – Israel violates human rights. We don’t think it’s right for the country to take part in Eurovision to polish its image, says initiator Lukas Korpelainen to the Finnish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet. Similar calls from the music industry have also taken place in Iceland, among other places. Several also protested outside news in Oslo when this year’s Norwegian MGP participants were announced on 5 January. Several brought posters that read “ban Israel from Eurovision 2024”. Charlo Halvorsen, news’s entertainment editor. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Halvorsen – news does not engage in foreign policy – news cannot advocate a cultural boycott of Israel. We do not have a mandate to conduct foreign policy, says Charlo Halvorsen, news’s entertainment editor. He believes that by deciding whether Israel should take part in this year’s Eurovision or not, it may seem that news has taken sides in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. – If we are to be independent and free in relation to solving our news mission, then we cannot enter into a conflict and take a position, he says. The Eurovision Song Contest claims to be a non-political contest. At the same time, Russia is banned as a result of the war in Ukraine, and is not allowed to take part in this year’s competition. When asked why news then took an active position in relation to banning Russia after their invasion of Ukraine, Halvorsen says the following: – There it was a completely different situation, where there was a united Europe that wanted Russia not to be involved. The Foreign Minister says that Norway does not have a tradition of unilateral boycott measures. Photo: Lars Os Barth Eide: – Boycott is not the answer. In the first part of the Debate, several politicians were asked whether they supported a political and economic boycott of Israel. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide replied no. – The situation in the Middle East is serious, but the answer is not a boycott. We work on this every day. The Middle East is on fire and the situation on the West Bank is also worrying, he says. The Foreign Minister further states that Norway does not have a tradition of unilateral boycott measures. – The few times Norway has participated in boycotts of countries have been when many other states have supported a boycott. Or that has been called upon by the EU or the UN Security Council. – A boycott will not change anything, says the foreign minister. – Israel’s crimes have no consequences, says Bjørnar Moxnes. Photo: Lars Os Rødt: – The government must straighten its back Storting representative Bjørnar Moxnes from Rødt strongly criticizes the government’s handling of the Middle East conflict, and believes that it is high time to boycott Israel. – Israel faces no sanctions for what it does in Gaza. It is time for the Foreign Minister to straighten his back and support more than just a ceasefire. The government must put power behind the demands. – In reality, the Norwegian authorities have given the green light to Israel and their slaughter of Palestinians. Israel’s crimes have no consequences. – There is a double standard when it comes to Israel, no one else would have gotten away with this. On Friday, several Palestine activists met outside news’s headquarters in Oslo. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB A majority in Norway wants a boycott According to a VG poll, around one in two Norwegians wants us to boycott Israel. The survey, carried out by Respon’s analysis, shows that 47 percent are positive about boycotting Israel. 27 percent are negative, while 27 percent are not sure.
ttn-69
– Absurd that Israel is allowed to participate – news Culture and entertainment
