The Kan of the Israeli public service Kan said this Sunday, May 11, after having filed a complaint with the Swiss authorities, saying that a protester had made a gesture of killing and saliva to the members of the Israeli delegation at the Eurovision opening ceremony on Sunday.
Eurovision is organized by the European Radio-Television Union (URU), the largest global public service media, of which Kan is a member.
The Eurovision Song competition week began on Sunday with a parade through Basel, the third city in Switzerland. The representatives of each participating country, including singer Yuval Raphael for Israel, paraded aboard trams and old buses.
Throughout the route, several protesters have soft flags and Palestinian signs “without applause for a genocide” or “we change while Gaza burns”, some use megáphones.
Yuval Raphael, a survivor of October 7
Kan indicated in his place that he had filed a complaint with the Swiss police after a young man with a Keffiieh and holding a Palestinian flag made a “slaughter gesture” towards Yuval Raphael and members of the Israeli delegation.
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 chain also contacted the UU, requesting that measures be taken to identify the individual who made this gesture and spit on the members of the delegation,” Kan added.
Contacted by AFP, the cantonal police said they were “aware of the incident” and that “they transmit a report” to the competent authorities. Also requested, the UUr did not react immediately.
More than 1,300 police officers mobilized
More than 1,300 police officers were mobilized in Basel during Eurovision week, and surveillance cameras were installed around “fan areas.” Basel emergency services indicated that the parade had “unwindling without important problems.” Fans and protesters were able to approach the trams when the procession passes.
“The police could arrest some 150 people (…) and so that the official event was interrupted,” authorities said in a brief press release.
Last year, the competition organized in Malmö, Sweden, had already been marked by demonstrations against the war in Gaza. The Israeli representative Eden Golan had acted under high security and was largely limited to his hotel. Last week, more than 70 former participants in Eurovision requested Israel’s exclusion due to the war in Gaza.
Source: BFM TV
