Some 200 protesters organized a silent march on Wednesday through Basel, the Eurovision Swiss host city, to protest Israel’s participation, while the country intensifies its war in Gaza.
They dislodged from the City Council and then crossed the RIN, but the police prevented them from reaching the “Eurovision village” fans zone.
With about thirty Palestinian flags, protesters wore a banner in which you could read: “Basel – United for Palestine” and “Boicot of the genocide Song Competition”.
A woman had a sign in which she was written: “Gaza is hungry for Israel at this time”, while a man soft with the message: “Thank you Nemo!”
“Israel is never sanctioned for what it does”
The Swiss singer, who won Eurovision last year in Malmö, Sweden, joined the calls that require the exclusion of Israel from the world’s largest television event.
Other signs showed the following messages: “Human rights for all” and “We think of the 50,000 children, mothers and fathers who died in Gaza.”
Georgina Ingold, 60, from Basel, said: “Israel is never sanctioned for what you do. You cross the red lines, so you cannot participate in a festive and light event like this.”
Read Kobler, 31, from Zurich, added: “It’s simply horrible. And Basilea offers a platform to Israel, and nobody says anything. He has to stop,” with a sign in which we could read: “We are human and you looked silently.”
A survivor of the attack on October 7 will represent Israel
While Israel intensifies his offensive in Gaza, who made tens of thousands of deaths, the calls to exclude Eurovision are multiplying.
Pro-Palestinian manifestations in Basel are far from reaching the extension or intensity of those that had taken place last year in Malmö, when Israeli candidate Eden Golan had acted under high security, the rest of the time confined in his hotel.
Yuval Raphael, the representative of Israel this year, will participate in the second semi -final Thursday, and is one of the favorites to qualify. Yuval Raphael survived the attack on October 7, 2023 in Israel, which caused the war in Gaza, hidden under the bodies during the Hamas attack of a music festival, during which hundreds of people were killed.
The Kan of the Israeli public media said they had filed a complaint before the police after filming a protester apparently making a “slaughter gesture” towards the Israeli delegation during the Eurovision opening parade on Sunday, in the midst of many other pro-Palestinian protesters that wave flags.
Source: BFM TV
