Eurovision turns out to be a big hit for Palestine

Icelandic band Hatari holds up a Palestinian flag sign at Euorvision 2019 in Tel Aviv

Yvonne Ridley writes in Middle East Monitor:

It was the result that nobody predicted: the winner of Eurovision 2019 is… Palestine!

Despite the organisers describing the Eurovision Song Contest as a non-political event, the issue of Palestine took back, front and centre stage in Tel Aviv over the weekend, which may make Israel come to regret its weaponisation of culture and the whitewashing of its discrimination against the Palestinian people.

Reaching a global audience that the pro-Palestine lobby could only dream of, Eurovision gave the Palestinian cause a platform and exposure to an audience of millions not normally confronted by Middle East politics. When you get the headline act Madonna including the Palestinian flag on the back of one of her dancers, as well as Icelandic band Hatari displaying Palestinian banners on live television, it’s hard to ignore the policies and practices of Israel, which these days are likened — with good reason — to the abhorrent apartheid system of racial segregation which once dominated life in South Africa.

Iceland’s Eurovision act could now face some sort of disciplinary action for displaying Palestinian flags during their live showpiece, according to officials who said that the issue will be discussed by the contest’s executive board. To make matters worse for the organisers, Hatari also waved Palestinian flags on screen while their public vote was being announced.

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