The final of the most controversial edition of Eurovision will take place this Saturday, May 16. Meanwhile, Israel’s presence in the contest continues to generate headlines. In this way, Amnesty International has harshly criticized the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for refusing to expel Israel: “The EBU has betrayed humanity,” the organization has declared.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, has assured that the failure to expel Israel from the contest represents an “act of cowardice and a sign of a flagrant double standard when it comes to Israel.” This “double standard” that Callamard speaks of refers to the difference in treatment between Israel and Russia, a country that was expelled in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine.
Callamard has also criticized the EBU for failing to send any “clear message about the consequences of Israel’s atrocious crimes against the Palestinian people” and instead providing “Israel with this international stage as it continues to commit genocide in Gaza, illegal occupation and apartheid.”
The organization considers that the EBU would be destroying the values of Eurovision, among which are “freedom from intolerance, hate speech and discrimination”, and ignoring the protests of Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland. “In short, the EBU has betrayed humanity,” adds Callamard.
