![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Eurovision_israel_VIDEO.png\" "\\"Eurovision_israel_VIDEO\\"\/")
\nA Palestinian flag was displayed during the performance by the Israeli singer at Eurovision.(Photo: video grab)<\/p>\n
\nA Palestinian flag was displayed during the performance by the Israeli singer at Eurovision.(Photo: video grab)<\/p>\n
By Palestine Chronicle Staff<\/a><\/strong> \u00a0 \nRTVE has requested a debate over Israel\u2019s participation in the Eurovision contest.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Spanish broadcaster RTVE criticized Israel\u2019s attacks on Gaza during a broadcast of the Eurovision contest on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n As the Israeli candidate, Yuval Raphael, was introduced before her performance, RTVE included captions questioning Israel\u2019s participation in the song competition, according to the Anadolu news agency.<\/p>\n Eurovision attendees booed and raised Palestinian flags during Israel\u2019s rehearsal performance at the Eurovision on Thursday amid an international campaign to boycott Israel\u2019s participation in the song competition. pic.twitter.com\/Ca6OwOmrAQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) May 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cRTVE has requested a debate over its participation,\u201d said one caption. \u201cThe victims of the Israeli attacks exceed 50,000, including more than 15,000 children.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spanish broadcaster then called for \u201cjustice and respect for human rights\u201d in the competition, adding \u201cThis festival is peaceful,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n Before diverging from the script, the captions noted that Raphael had survived the October 7, 2023, resistance operation led by Hamas.<\/p>\n KAN Files Complaint<\/p>\n In response, the Israeli broadcaster KAN filed <\/a>a complaint with the European Broadcasting Union against RTVE following the broadcast, \u201cduring which commentators discussed Gaza during Yuval Dayan\u2019s clip presentation,\u00a0 the Israeli Ynet News reported.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa4\ud83c\udfb5 Eurovisi\u00f3n no puede servir para blanquear el genocidio que Israel est\u00e1 cometiendo contra el pueblo palestino, una nueva #Nakba<\/a>.<\/p>\n Espa\u00f1a abri\u00f3 el debate para que cese la participaci\u00f3n de Israel y vamos a seguir presionando desde el Consejo de Administraci\u00f3n de RTVE. pic.twitter.com\/10PMQxW0hr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Enrique Santiago (@EnriqueSantiago) May 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Last month, RTVE called for a review of Israel\u2019s participation in the event, citing public concern over Israel\u2019s ongoing military assault on Gaza.<\/p>\n Last year, Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun spoke out against Israel\u2019s participation, saying millions \u201cfelt ashamed\u201d that Eurovision was being used to \u201cwhitewash a genocide,\u201d Anadolu reported.<\/p>\n Protest Outside Contest Venue<\/p>\n In St. Jakobshalle, Basel in Switzerland, where the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be taking place, activists carrying Palestinian flags were forced to leave the area by police officers.<\/p>\n One of the activists carrying a Palestinian flag told Anadolu that she does not support a decision to allow a \u201cgenocidal state\u201d to attend the contest.<\/p>\n Zahlreiche Menschen haben am Donnerstag in der Schweiz gegen Israels Teilnahme am ESC protestiert. Sowohl w\u00e4hrend des Auftritts der israelischen S\u00e4ngerin Raphael im zweiten Halbfinale des Wettbewerbs als auch vor dem Veranstaltungsort in Basel wurden Pal\u00e4stina-Flaggen gezeigt. pic.twitter.com\/Q4tqB4XYNJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 TRT Deutsch (@TRTDeutsch) May 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cWe are hosting (Eurovision), but I will not tolerate this. I do not want Israel participating in the Eurovision Song Contest while they are massacring Palestinians,\u201d Marta said.<\/p>\n The activist said police officers informed her that if she did not leave immediately or remove the flag, they would prevent her from entering the area for five days.<\/p>\n She added that the officer also said that no Palestinian flags would be allowed in front of or around the stadium.<\/p>\n \u2018Terrible Crime\u2019<\/p>\n Otto was another activist who had to leave the area because he was carrying a Palestinian flag.<\/p>\n He told Anadolu that it is a \u201cterrible crime\u201d to allow the propaganda of a country \u201cactively committing genocide, killing more than 50,000 people and injuring more than 100,000 people.\u201d<\/p>\n Protesters in Basel, Switzerland, condemned Israel\u2019s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest amid the ongoing war on Gaza. pic.twitter.com\/OQ1WGq39NS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Since March 2, Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical and humanitarian aid, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights and international reports.<\/p>\n On Thursday, the Spanish ambassador to Israel was summoned<\/a> after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez referred to Israel as a \u201cgenocidal state.\u201d<\/p>\n Rising Death Toll<\/p>\n Since Israel\u2019s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.<\/p>\n On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 52,000, wounding more than 118,000, with over 14,000 still missing.<\/p>\n More than 100 Palestinians were killed, injured, or remain missing following heavy Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza\u2019s residential areas and medical services.https:\/\/t.co\/ns8uGnSx6z<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/T1MqoEGKfr<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Twitter-X-Logo.png\"){kind=logo}
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