Eurovision Was Traditionally a Campy Joy – Yet It Has Become a Calculated Tool to Gloss Over Warfare.

An recent acronym surfaced a few months into the military campaign against Gaza. Labeled WCNSF, it means “Child casualty without any family left”. This designation is unique to Gaza, according to doctors such as child health specialists. Ordinarily, it is uncommon for doctors to treat a young patient who has lost their complete family. Yet, there has been nothing “normal” about the widespread destruction in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been eradicated and the number of young amputees is greater than that of any other place in the world. Nothing normal in scores of doctors coming back from a devastated terrain with accounts of children being systematically aimed at.

A Living Nightmare In Spite Of a Supposed Ceasefire

Gaza remains hell on earth. Vital medicines and equipment are failing to reach those in need, and major human rights organizations contend that violations are ongoing. The Israeli government has denied these allegations, consistent with how it disavows all charges it is accused of. Yet as traumatised orphans are now enduring frigid conditions in improvised encampments, there is a little heartwarming news: apparently nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from advancing its declared purpose of “togetherness and cultural exchange.” Organizers will continue to extend a prestigious stage for Israel, although at least four European countries have now pulled out in protest. Since this, we are told, is what international harmony looks like.

Eurovision, of course banned Russia from participating in 2022 because of the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza appears to be completely different.

Contradictory Principles

Overlook the circumstance that Israel was criticized for unfair vote practices last year in what appears to have been an attempt to manipulate Eurovision. Ignore the report that a young child was reportedly killed in Gaza just days ago. Pay no mind to the evidence that settler violence and forced displacement in the West Bank have escalated. Disregard the condition that foreign reporters are still denied unfettered access in Gaza. None of this, evidently, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.

The Pageant Proceeds Against a Backdrop of Staggering Tragedy

The contest marks seven decades next year – nearly twice the current lifespan of an individual in Gaza at present. The show may go on, but it will likely never recapture the pure, unadulterated fun it once represented. A contest that initially championed togetherness has devolved into a transparent instrument to whitewash war.