BRUSSELS — In an ornate Brussels concert hall, Bashar Murad, a Palestinian songwriter, stood before hundreds and delivered a mournful performance of Nina Simone\u2019s \u201cI Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free\u201d in English and Arabic. When the final notes faded, the audience erupted.<\/p>\n
The performance Tuesday evening was part of a broader protest movement against this week\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest<\/a> in Vienna, with Israel\u2019s participation sparking anger over its devastating military campaign in Gaza and elsewhere. <\/p>\n Five nations, including Spain and Ireland, are boycotting the kitschy extravaganza<\/a> as performers from 35 countries compete in Europe\u2019s annual pop music competition, which marks its 70th anniversary this year.<\/a> Ten countries including Israel and favorite Finland won places Tuesday<\/a> in the final of the contest, whose motto is \u201cUnited by Music.\u201d<\/p>\n Alternative concerts are also taking place across Europe this week, including the \u201cUnited for Palestine\u201d event in Brussels, where European musicians performed alongside Murad and other Palestinian artists.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always amazing to be in the same room with people who believe in the same things as you and people who believe that we can\u2019t just let the show go on,\u201d said Murad, who came close to being Iceland\u2019s competitor in 2024.<\/p>\n Murad\u2019s mother and father, a founding member of the influential Palestinian music group Sabreen, unsuccessfully petitioned the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, to admit Palestine to the contest in 2007.<\/p>\n Since joining in 1973, Israel has won four times and the show holds deep cultural significance across the country. <\/p>\n Israel’s place in the contest has become contentious as outrage over the carnage in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Iran has grown from Rome to Madrid with massive popular protests<\/a> and European Union politicians mulling new sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to create an alternative because the participation of Israel is problematic,” said Katrien De Ruysscher, founder of the activist group SOS Gaza, which organized the Brussels event along with the rights group 11.11.11.<\/p>\n The 2024 contest in Malmo, Sweden<\/a>, and last year\u2019s event in Basel, Switzerland<\/a>, saw pro-Palestinian protests<\/a> that called for Israel to be expelled and allegations<\/a> that Israel’s government broke the contest’s rules to support its contestant.<\/p>\n Performers are judged by juries in participating nations and viewers around the world, and this year the broadcasting union tightened voting rules in response to the vote-rigging allegations.<\/p>\n