Dutch broadcaster joins RTÉ in proposed boycott of Eurovision over Israel
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
A public broadcaster in the Netherlands has joined RTÉ in a proposed boycott of Eurovision if Israel remains as a participant.
It comes as the BBC faced similar calls from Irish songwriter Phil Coulter, who co-wrote one of the UK’s winning entries.
RTÉ and Dutch public broadcaster Avrotros have announced they will not take part in next year’s contest if Israel is among the participants.
The national broadcaster said multiple members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest, have raised concerns about the participation of Israel.
A spokesperson for Eurovision said it was up to each state to decide if it wanted to take part.
On Friday, Derry-born musician and songwriter Phil Coulter said he was “100 per cent behind” RTÉ’s decision.
Coulter, who co-wrote the UK’s winning 1967 entry, Puppet On A String by Sandie Shaw, said there was a “double standard” because Russia and Belarus had previously been expelled from the contest.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster radio programme, he said: “We can’t normalise what’s going on in Gaza.
“It’s not a question of disapproval, it’s a question of absolute disgust.”
Coulter said he recognised that a song contest was “not going to change the world” but added: “We musicians, songwriters, performers, are human beings with consciences and with our conscience still very alert.
“I think the only sensible thing and the only decent thing for RTÉ to do is to withdraw from the contest if Israel is allowed to perform.”
Asked if the BBC should take a similar stand, he added: “I do. I think its a question of conscience.
“I’m quite sure that throughout the United Kingdom, people are equally disgusted by what’s going on in in Gaza.”
On the same programme, Dana, a Eurovision winner for Ireland, said “anyone with a heart would be devastated by the catastrophic situation in Gaza”.
She argued there was a need for a “safe space without political pressure” in which “ordinary people can come together”.
The UK is part of the Big Five at Eurovision which is guaranteed entry into the final of the song contest due to the level of its financial contributions to the EBU.
The BBC declined to comment.
