Catherine Wilkinson/
Seven Billion Today
Famous people in the entertainment industry have asked the BBC in an open letter to move the Eurovision song contest from Israel to another place. As the winner was from Israel last year, organisers have started planning the event in Tel Aviv for 2019 – continuing the Eurovision tradition.
But, stars and celebrities (essentially, just good human beings) have protested against this and enforced that human rights are more important than any form of light entertainment.
In light of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, these individuals have argued that it feels wrong to celebrate an event of inclusion and diversity, in a place which quite obviously echoes the extreme opposite.
Who else wants to write another letter to the BBC? I don’t know…. in the form of an e-mail thread or a letter with many signatures – I am just thinking out loud here… But I want to follow this train of thought and pursue it with all the strength I have inside of me. Because, these individuals, celebrities they may be, are correct in their judgement. The Eurovision Song Contest, a decade-old event which celebrates the unity of different nations and cultures, should not be held which represents the destruction of so many peoples’ lives and freedoms.
Are you with me?