Swedish protesters call for boycotting Israel at Eurovision

ISTANBUL

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Sweden’s Malmo on Friday to demand a boycott of Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest taking place in the city.

The demonstrators shouted slogans like "Freedom for Palestine," "Genocidal Israel," "Boycott Israel," "Children are being killed in Gaza," and "Stop the genocide."

Several protesters spoke with Anadolu about their stance against Israel’s participation in the contest.

One of them, Esaias Yavari, said that the region, including Palestine, has been divided along ethnic and religious lines for a century, adding that efforts need to be made to liberate Palestine from “imperialism and the capitalist system.”

“It is just grotesque. Nothing less than a war song which is going to be played at the Eurovision,” he said, referring to Israeli singer Eden Golan’s song, Hurricane.

“It really shows the hypocrisy, especially when they threw out Russia because it invaded Ukraine,” he said, adding that a similar treatment for Israel was needed.

Yavari also highlighted that Malmo, a city with a major immigrant and Muslim population, has experienced provocations such as Quran burning and displays of the Israeli flag.

“The police have allowed all types of provocations. Quran burning … I was on my way home and I saw a person putting the Quran on a dog's leash. Why? One of them was wearing an Israeli flag. They want to provoke some sort of violent reaction,” he said.

“It's been very peaceful. It's also what it should be,” said Yavari, referring to the pro-Palestine demonstrations.

The protester also criticized Swedish media, saying that “they are doing everything” to make the Palestinian movement look like “violent thugs.”

“You see this also in the articles on Swedish media,” he added.

Marga Boman, another protester, called Israel’s participation in the Eurovision just “wrong.”

“They shouldn't be allowed to be here. Russia was forbidden because it attacked Ukraine, and what about Israel's genocide of the people in Gaza?” she asked.

Protester Ulla Norberg, meanwhile, said Israel “is not a democracy.”

“I don't want them to participate,” she said, adding that allowing Israel to participate in Eurovision means allowing the onslaught in Gaza to continue.

Another Swede, Britta Brus, called Israel a “terrorist state,” and that she has trouble “finding words” for what’s going on in Gaza.

“Sweden used to be a country that … cared a lot about human rights and so on. Now, this government is not the same as it was in the 70s,” she said in her criticism of the government’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest final is taking place on Saturday. The annual televised competition is organized by the European Broadcasting Union.

Israel's Eden Golan competed in this week's semi-final and won a place in the grand final. She had been booed in rehearsals.