This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Tel Aviv but some of the usual fans won’t be in attendance.
Activists are calling for people to boycott the contest because of Israel’s human rights record.
Qussai Ramzi is one of the fans protesting against Eurovision’s presence in Israel.
Despite following the competition for years, he won’t be watching, attending or supporting it in 2019.
He told CityNews that he couldn’t support because of his stance on the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
He said aggressive settlement policies that “clearly violate international law” were one of the main reasons for his decision to boycott Eurovision.
Over the last few weeks, there have been violent scenes on the Gaza-Israel border.
This has led to calls from pro-Palestinian activists for a boycott of the competition, plus divestment and sanction of Israel.
Despite calls for her to cancel her performance, Madonna said she will perform two songs at Saturday’s final.
The BBC also rejected calls to boycott the competition and justified their decision to broadcast the show.
The organisation has said “it is not a political event”.
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Headline Eurovision boycott: Why some activists won’t be in Tel AvivShort Headline Palestinian activists are boycotting EurovisionStandfirst Protesters are criticising Israel's human rights record causing some to avoid the competition.
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Tel Aviv but some of the usual fans won’t be in attendance.
Activists are calling for people to boycott the contest because of Israel’s human rights record.
Qussai Ramzi is one of the fans protesting against Eurovision’s presence in Israel.
Despite following the competition for years, he won’t be watching, attending or supporting it in 2019.
He told CityNews that he couldn’t support because of his stance on the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
He said aggressive settlement policies that “clearly violate international law” were one of the main reasons for his decision to boycott Eurovision.
Over the last few weeks, there have been violent scenes on the Gaza-Israel border.
This has led to calls from pro-Palestinian activists for a boycott of the competition, plus divestment and sanction of Israel.
Despite calls for her to cancel her performance, Madonna said she will perform two songs at Saturday’s final.
The BBC also rejected calls to boycott the competition and justified their decision to broadcast the show.
The organisation has said “it is not a political event”.
