Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society and a former member of the Green Party Bundestag deputy, sharply criticized the boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest by five European nations. On Friday, speaking to RTL and ntv, Beck emphasized that the ESC is an event featuring artists, not world leaders. He pointed out that the Israeli entry would be managed by the public broadcaster KAN, which he called “super critical of the government” contrasting this with Russia, where a state propaganda broadcaster was involved, and noting that Russia has been excluded due to an internationally law-breaking war. He stated that this situation cannot be equated with Israel.
Beck addressed the boycott-led by Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Ireland, and Iceland-as an attempt to impose “double standards” on the European Broadcasting Union. However, he argued that the five countries were enacting what he termed a “collective antisemitic, anti-Zionist stunt”. Specifically, he claimed that the Spanish Prime Minister was attempting to divert attention from internal political troubles using his stance on Israel. Furthermore, he dismissed the call for the boycott from over 1,100 musicians as being motivated by antisemitism and out of touch with reality.
He also regarded the assertion that Israel is systemically using the ESC as an image campaign, or that the Israeli government manages collective votes, as unrealistic. He suggested that the Israeli government was so inept at public relations that Israeli artists would rather mock such attempts. Nevertheless, he admitted that the intense debate influenced his own voting habits. “Naturally, there are many people, and I am one of them, who say: I am so disgusted by these anti-Israeli protests and these boycott attitudes that I am voting in solidarity” he said. “And then I send ten SMS messages for Noam Bettan and his song, ‘Michelle'”. Yet, he confessed a preference for a situation where such drama was unnecessary, allowing the best artist to win purely on merit.