A Festival of Song in Israel: a celebration of human harmony?

     What's another year? The bizarre extravaganza that is the Eurovision Song Contest is to go ahead even in the face of a widespread condemnation of the event being held this weekend in Tel Aviv.  A small minority of powerful people from the worlds of politics, finance and mainstream media have been successful in making sure this year's competition in Israel will run. They try to claim the moral high ground, (as others have tried to do with sport), by suggesting that music and musical performance are peaceful not political endeavours.  Yes, they can be peaceful ventures which bring people together in harmony and unity but on this occasion the argument does not hold.

     
    To witness that music is often politically divisive listen to the tenor of the music and lyrics of most national anthems. For instance one verse in the British National Anthem God Save the Queen contains the following lines about what should be done to Scots.

Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the Queen!

    
    Nothing I have heard or read about this year's occasion persuades me that it is about harmony or unity, and justice has not been served in bestowing upon Israel the right to run this international event, an event that is always openly used by the hosting nation as a propaganda exercise from which it shapes an image of itself that it hopes will demonstrate its respectability. This could be acceptable if, in the main, the government of the hosting state treats all of its inhabitants and neighbours justly, equally and humanely.  These qualities are not evident in the actions of the government of Israel towards the Palestinian people. It is tragically ironic to watch an Israeli government adopt the kind of attitude towards the Palestinian people for which the NAZI German government of the 1930s and 1940s was rightly condemned when its treatment of Jewish people and others was unthinkably abominable. More alarming about the current situation is that the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to have the support of the USA, (so called 'Land of the Free'), under the ‘leadership' of President Trump. 
    
    Even more distressing is that in acquiescing to this cruelty we all become culpable. Is the deliberate imposing of suffering upon Palestinians a price they should be prepared to pay so that our show can go on?  Must our show go on ? Or should we "Dare To Dream" that it meets its deserved Waterloo?

I wonder if some day that you’ll say its OK

To watch a festival of song in Israel where innocents are slaughtered everyday,

Like Palestinians on a string, 
Like Palestinians on a string!

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