Displeasure about Israel

Belgian TV interrupted ESC with hate message

The Israeli singer Eden Golan (3rd from left) during her performance in Malmö(Bild: APA/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard)

There was an incident in Belgium on Thursday evening during the broadcast of the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC): At the beginning (9pm) and end (11.10pm), a text board was shown on which trade unions had criticized Israel's policies.

Among other things, the Israeli government was accused of violating human rights in the war in the Gaza Strip and destroying the freedom of the press. The message, which was written in Flemish, was supported by the Belgian TV union ACOD. "We have been following the events in the Middle East with horror for months. We are convinced that the state of Israel is committing genocide and it is therefore a scandal that an Israeli candidate is taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest," explained the responsible union members.

We are convinced that the state of Israel is committing genocide and it is therefore a scandal that an Israeli candidate is taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Belgische TV-Gewerkschaft ACOD

Broadcasting management was informed
Doing nothing is no longer an option. The union broadcast its message nationwide and informed the broadcaster in advance. This was confirmed by the Flemish broadcaster VRT. The unions did not even need permission for this, it said. Israel's ambassador to Belgium, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, criticized the protest and spoke of "anti-Israeli lies."

An anti-Israeli rally was also held on Thursday in Malmö, Sweden, the venue of the ESC. Among them was climate activist Greta Thunberg. Large demonstrations against Israel's government have also already been announced for Saturday.