Why Israel is still in Eurovision (and Russia is not)

Oh? Did you think this video was political? Oh, how naive you are.
Basically, I got tired of people comparing Russia and Israel, and now this video exists. But I do want to know your thoughts.
This doesn't mention all the other controversies surrounding Russia's broadcaster and all the other Russia Eurovision controversies. That's a completely different subject.
Again, I am NOT saying or implying any specific side did anything wrong or right. I'm trying to be as neutral and non-opinionated as possible. There are no undertones or anything despite my autistic tone deafness.
MedGlobal: medglobal.org/?gad_source=1&g...

[@sab5686]

not to mention azerbaijan, who did veryyy controversial things is still participating because no one spoke out.

[@dinosaysrawr]

Yup yup! Correct.

[@Mona-zh1ml]

what did Azerbaijan do? (genuine question, i was living under a rock lol)

[@dinosaysrawr]

@@Mona-zh1ml , basically, assorted human rights abuses, territory disputes with Armenia, attempting to censor the feed when Armenia performed at Eurovision, and interrogating Azerbaijani people suspected of voting for Armenia's song.

[@Mona-zh1ml]

@@dinosaysrawr oof yikes 😬

[@rayan5150]

It’s not “because bot one spoke out” it’s because European states and institutions did not speak out.

[@FlagAnthem]

I still have to understand how geographicaly non-european countries are competing in the first place...

[@smultronpojke4010]

Unironically colonialism. The EBU operates within the European Broadcasting Area, which is based on old telegram lines. Telegram lines that, of course, were drawn during the twilight years of European empires. The mandate of Palestine is under British rule, let's draw telegram lines there, and over a century later we're left picking up the pieces

[@henning1152]

From Wikipedia The European Broadcasting Area (determening EBU eligibility) is bounded on the west by the western boundary of Region 1 (meaning is has to be in Afro-Eurasia), on the east by the meridian 40° East of Greenwich and on the south by the parallel 30° North. In addition, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia as they are members of the council of Europe

[@DarkFlareGC]

Capitalism babyyyyyy. Australia is a really good example of this. They have a very motivated delegation and fans. They are willing to pay the entry fees and the ridiculous extra expense to fly a band halfway across the world every year, even agreed to never host the contest if they win. For the EBU more countries = more entry fees. The more countries splitting the cost means you can bring down the price of entry fees to hopefully attract back countries like Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Romania. So if they are approached by an non-european country they will seriously consider it. Also the concept of Europe as a continent has always been poorly defined because it's literally attached to Asia. Really more of a cultural region with blurry edges. Is Turkey European, Middle Eastern or Asian? Depends who you ask and what's going on.

[@monkeyshadow7941]

Was kind also thinkin , is arabia now also , eu?

[@TSKGnkur1283]

Israel's song was cut off during live TV by the Belgian television and boycotted them.

[@MovieEggman]

Based Belgians

[@shanabrown9360]

WTF?! That's straight-up censorship!!! The time China did that, they were banned from ever broadcasting Eurovision ever again! Action should have been done about this!

[@shanabrown9360]

Censorship is not okay wtf?! When China censored a gay kiss, they were banned from ever broadcasting Eurovision again!! What are these double standards?!

[@TributesAndUnique]

It’s not the EBU. It’s the broadcasters that are the major hypocrites

[@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993]

Yeah

[@wilyriley_]

also, MoroccanOil

[@ScanlonrocNYC]

"Hungary thought the show was too gay".. 🤣

[@NYAndreas]

In 1975, a few months after Turkey's invasion and subsequent illegal occupation of 36% of Cyprus, the Eurovision Song Contest welcomed Turkey's participation without any objections, except from Greece, which withdrew in protest. The following year, 1976, Greece participated with a song directly related to the Turkish invasion, prompting Turkey to withdraw from the contest in protest against the political nature of the Greek song. Although Turkey did not participate, it broadcast the final but censored the Greek song, playing a nationalistic song instead. As a result, Turkey was barred from participating in 1977 but returned in 1978.

[@biray4710]

Yes, illegal occupation to save their people from ge no cide. Just like today, Iz are shoved in our faces as the "heroes" and Palestinians are the "terrorists who invaded Iz".

[@EpicGamerzism]

If it was entirely down to the EBU Russia would 100% still be competing

[@smultronpojke4010]

One thing I think you glossed over is the fact that KAN postured a lot about how they wouldn't change a word of October Rain up until the last possible second, which to some certainly reads as bull-headedness comparable to that of BRTC. There's also the way that the EBU as recently as last spring repeatedly warned that KAN could be kicked out because of the Israeli government's plans to heavily strip down KAN's news reporting duties. Then there's some of the Very Normal things KAN has been up to recently, such as that infamous video of those kids singing... well, you know... and a segment about "the Islamization of Europe" targeting the host city Malmö in particular. IMO, not going out of your way to slander the host city with far right conspiracy talking points is the bare minimum of being a gracious guest, and the EBU that ostensibly upholds values promoting diversity and equality seemingly not having any problem with what was essentially white gen0cide posting raises eyebrows. I know the EBU is all about that dolla but they could at the very least try to make it less obvious Don't get me wrong, this is a good and informative video, I just wanted to add some extra context

[@KolkoCat]

Going to heart this so people see this because I genuinely did not know this. Then again, Russia's Channel One has been doing shit like that for years. The shit they said after Conchita won was so disgusting (though in Russia, the name Conchita means something incredibly dirty and explicit so that's an already unintentionally bad context). I guess we can add whatever broadcasters say outside of Eurovision to the list of things the EBU does not care about. I guess the EBU really does only care about complying with the rules and the broadcasters. I mean, I get freedom of speech and freedom to criticize whoever, but if the Malmö thing is true yikes that's really bad. The EBU is a non-profit, but as someone who has worked for a non-profit, they're ironically incredibly focused on money. Where I worked, everything was about attracting more funds, so you're definitely right in that regard.

[@ptys_rozowy]

1:50 one correction: Eurovision is broadcast on TVP1 and TVP Polonia. TVP 1 is sort of the main channel on which they broadcast live culural, religious and sports events and on a daily basis: quiz shows, series (mostly historical or turkish... EVEN BOTH) and news. TVP Polonia is simply made for Polish people living abroad just to let them know what's going on in their homeland or to see something realated with Polish culture. TVP3s are channels with local news and programs, there are: TVP3 Warszawa, TVP3 Kraków, etc... And there are many, many more... And I'm this close 🤏 to describe TVP Kobieta (TVP Woman) lore 💀

[@AdoBroTV]

Eurovision doesn't make sense anymore since that chicken won back in 2018. That was terrible.

[@tonyttt31]

Very talented chicken that could sing in English. Probably deserved to win.

[@Tar_Pick_Piano]

I just unlocked rock bottom in *Binding Of Isaac*

[@miscellaneoussarnian5282]

Hah!

[@Tar_Pick_Piano]

@@miscellaneoussarnian5282 ?

[@miscellaneoussarnian5282]

@@Tar_Pick_PianoBinding of Isaac. Isaac is a prominent figure Hebrew/Jewish Mythology/The Torah/The Old Testament/Book of Genesis

[@Tar_Pick_Piano]

@@miscellaneoussarnian5282 yeah binding of Isaac the game And yeah I know the other stuff

[@Tar_Pick_Piano]

@@miscellaneoussarnian5282 and that is a promotion part of the game

[@MovieEggman]

North American can’t compete in Eurovision but Israel and Australia can?

[@shanabrown9360]

Israel is pretty European despite being in Asia, in fact they are closer to Europe than Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and the Caucasus nations still participate. Australia signed a contract to participate, and they are VERY BIG FANS of Eurovision, while the US has almost never heard of it (I'm from the US btw.)

[@poli_roma]

No freaking way that your notification came to me right after I saw Eurovision's Insta post about Israel's entry

[@JH3Eurovision]

I get the intentions of this video but tbh I don't think it's a particularly comprehensive or fair analysis. It doesn't present any new information, and by intentionally not including non-Eurovision reasons for why people want Israel banned (and even some Eurovision-related reasons which I'll get into), you are leaving out a lot of very important context as to 1) why people feel so strongly about this and 2) why Israel and Russia (and also Belarus) are in fact comparable. The main thing this video completely ignores is that KAN has consistently broken EBU rules. You simply cannot make a fair analysis of what's been happening without acknowledging that fact. If you want to keep it strictly to Eurovision-related things, then you could mention how they used EBU/Eurovision branding in a video saying that Malmö is "proof of the Islamization of Europe" and implying that it would be dangerous because of Muslims, or how KAN promoted war propaganda in their national selection, or how Israel tried to publicly intimidate Olly Alexander for being pro-Palestine (not KAN but still). These are all further examples of Israel trying to use the contest for their own gain that, again, provide important context to this whole movement that this video overlooks. If you don't want to get into a deep dive of Israel-Palestine public relations then fair enough, but at least acknowledge that KAN's overall behavior goes a lot further than just what they did with October Rain and Hurricane. Aside from that, don't take this as a personal attack because I don't know you but there is a consistent smug, condescending "enlightened centrist" vibe throughout this whole video that I found very off-putting, especially considering the subject matter. This analysis is nowhere near as neutral as is presented, especially when so much vital information is left out. Some parts do read as Israel being given far too much benefit of the doubt considering all that's been happening. Adding to the former point...idk if I misunderstood something but the those posts you showed at the end are not harassment or "shaming". They are very normal calls to boycott. The point of protesting and boycotting is not to make people feel good. People being uncomfortable because they were forced to look inward and confront the reality of what they actually support is NOT the same as harassment or public shaming, yet I've been seeing the two be conflated more and more lately. Again, don't take all of this personally. I don't think your intentions with this video are bad. I just think it could've done a much better job of talking about this had more research been done.

[@HelloKitty-we3ht]

What's wrong with talking about Islamizaiton of Malmo? It's literally true, and the illegal immigrants there shouting and harassing Jewish people are insane. When you read security officers there talking about threats of bombing, stabbing, shooting and taking hostages, it's pretty obvious which kind of ter rorists could plan such things. Even some people in the Swedish broadcaster admitted Malmo was a bad choice for Eurovision.. It's already like 25% Muslim and it will be higher in the future.

[@StealthheartDraws]

Trying to keep up this façade over Eurovision being apolitical is stupid. I get that that want to be as unbiased as possible, but with the show being literal gay culture, it is in no way apolitical

[@shanabrown9360]

Being gay shouldn't have to be political. Look alive.

[@thelivingzombie8403]

Finally you made this video

[@thegoober3896]

Very well done video

[@DuckCritical]

No shit israel aint gonna get kickes bc 90% of europe is gate keeping them

[@metalvideos1961]

all zionist puppets over here.

[@gerardkhachaturyan4814]

What do you think, that this year's Israeli song went on to win the second semi-final (Yes, ahead of Europapa and Jako) and finished in 5th position (screwed by Jury votes, but received many points from the public voting that only Croatia is ahead of it)?

[@jamiehawker7345]

It's good to have a neutral insight and try to understand why the EBU did this even though I disagree with their handling of this. Good concept for the video!

[@XxamewxX]

Смотрю это после паники и вообще думаю, зачем песни про войны (не в том смысле что все(?) но некоторые...😦)

[@shanabrown9360]

Because wars are going on now, and people want to make a statement.

[@ESCHayden]

Thank you for this video. Finally someone to actually be talking sense. Though I would add that government policy will also play a role in how broadcasters react.

[@markandas3348]

Since when was australia and israel in europe?? Its all political bollocks

[@TripG-lt1cl]

Don't be lazy, there is a detailed explanation in the rules of the program for nearly 70 years. What is certain is that Israel has been participating for over 50 years .

[@here4thecatvids]

I do appreciate this video and it is about as A-political it can get on this topic and I really really like that you talked about effective things to do. The one thing I found lacking or whatever you want to call it is what it would mean to be apolitical and why it's literally impossible. It is impossible for an organization as EBU to remain apolitical, especially if they DO ban showing Palestine flags. Personal opinion territory here: but huge part of my problems with EBU is their lack of transparency on their policy and decisions they made. You basically did the work for them, but it should have been the EBU who was transparent on this in the first place. Also, I don't really believe in apolitical existing anymore. Only having clear rules and mission statements and testing a situation to that. If including or excluding Taiwan which by al means has it's own independent government but is also claimed by China as a breakaway state that they'll get under their control again. Just mentioning Taiwan government or showing their flag is political. Or any discussion surrounding LGBT+ rights and protections. Some call it basic human rights, other call it shoving politics in their face. I love to think it's an apolitical topic, but is it really?

[@renanbp]

Believing they'll get more revenue by keeping Israel in the contest was such a rookie mistake... This year's contest is gonna be unbearable for everyone involved, artists are gonna be confronted by protesters wherever they go, there will be concerns about safety, the whole festive aspect is gonna be overshadowed by the inevitable political debate. Seriously, there's no way this is gonna be another normal, successful year for the ESC.

[@wilyriley_]

I’d argue it wasn’t a rookie mistake, it was reliance on MoroccanOil’s (an Israeli company) sponsorship money

[@Masaim6]

​@@wilyriley_It's not like they couldn't have gotten a new sponsor if they got rid of Maroccan oil early enough.

[@shanabrown9360]

I honestly feel so bad for Eden because so many people were booing her and saying terrible, cruel things about her online.

[@Masaim6]

@@shanabrown9360 Disserves it for being a Zionist.

[@renanbp]

@@shanabrown9360 as they should, with any representative of a government committing war crimes as we speak

[@DarkFlareGC]

Finally someone explaining exactly what the difference is. I also keep seeing people yelling about it being a double standard and that we're terrible if we want to watch the contest. And it's frustrating because I'm not defending the EBU but they are remarkably consistent from a certain point of view. They want to be the olympics of music and apolitical, and the "piss the least amount of people off" is very apt. That's how Spain got past the no swearing rule, the only people who would be offended by hearing "Zorra" were the Spanish and the public voted for it. At the end of the day money talks and they will make the decision to keep as many countries in as possible I just wish these people would put their energy into targeting actual decision makers. Bombarding their local broadcaster or politicians works way better than attacking strangers on the internet.

[@metalvideos1961]

this shows who controls the west. its not our politicians its the zionists.

[@zwelfbungt]

From the bottom of my heart: Thank you for this video!

[@antonytsai6611]

great explanation it clears up my confusion a lot thank you removing politics hurricane is a really strong and amazing ballad and has a really emotional message in it and eden will deliver with her vocals, only thing I'm worried about is security in Malmö for the artists

[@joebloggs396]

It's not amazing and it's political.

[@antonytsai6611]

@@joebloggs396 I said ignoring politics idiot use your eyes? Ik the song has a political meaning

[@HelloKitty-we3ht]

@@joebloggs396 And "Schindler's list" was a political movie too?

[@rayan5150]

She didn’t remove politics hurricane, she made you comfortable supporting Israel’s participation despite it being used politically.

[@antonytsai6611]

@@rayan5150 I forgot to put a comma 💀 I know hurricane is political it’s very obvious

[@vetleforseth5660]

Hungary was right. The show is too gay!

[@thefrogbert6295]

So glad you made this video Kolko 🌈❤

[@robloxchampionshow]

Why do you feel bad for the EBU like it's an individual?

[@MrLifeBr]

I am Israeli, an the feel was that participating in Eurovision is a way to make our voice heard. Nobody really wanted to win, hosting is expensive and we don't need the extra expanse.

[@akanichts267]

One thought, I would like to add: I think the russian broadcaster would have dropped out if the EBU wouldn't have been faster. Especially the LGBTQ+ entries do not fit their program.

[@user-pe5qy1zw6y]

WE WILL DANCE AGAIN❤❤❤❤

[@arpa9009]

So you don't feel comfortable with Ukraine singing about the genocide of Tatas but with Israel singing about Oct 7th tragedy... No words...

[@KolkoCat]

Maybe watch the whole video before commenting? Because me saying how uncomfortable the October 7 song made me was a pretty big part of the video. Also pretty sure I said the exact opposite. Sorry if it wasn’t worded better.

[@EitanMelody]

If Eden can't sing about her dead brothers and sisters, then why are other contestants allowed to sing about loved ones who died? If you make a rule, apply it across the board.

[@shanabrown9360]

1944 happened 70 years ago at that time. This happened less than a year ago.

[@nertnyok9869]

Have you see the hidden symbology on russia flag?

[@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993]

Yeah what about it

[@nertnyok9869]

@@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993 and the isarel flag?

[@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993]

@@nertnyok9869 wdym what hidden symbol

[@nertnyok9869]

@@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993 what fun whould by if i tell😘

[@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993]

@@nertnyok9869 come one tell meeeeeeee

[@lydiaresol6957]

It breaks my heart to know that Ebu would let Russia compete unless other countries threatened. It really shows their true colors. And now it's Israel. Great video, thank you for your work!

[@yuma5158]

I can sort of understand reasons that you would want to keep this video apolitical, that being said, I fundamentally think it’s wrong. You go out of your way many times to state that you are not going to share your stance on Israel and the atrocities committed by Israel in Palestine. This is siding with Israel. The side with overwhelming power doesn’t need support, it only needs neutrality. It’s not enough to not encourage discrimination and genocide, any tolerance of the cruelty and inequality is enough to allow it to flourish. You want this video to be only educational, but showing that you won’t actively condemn Israel is enough to allow hate to grow and spread. It’s unreasonable to want to be apolitical when you can support those who suffer and prevent hateful spaces from forming around your content. Please see this.

[@hellothere3097]

From the river to the sea, Israel is all you see. 👀🇮🇱🤌🏻keep crying about it💧

[@vondas1480]

There’s no such thing as palestine ☺️🇮🇱

[@yuma5158]

@@vondas1480 there is such thing as the Palestinian people - who are being massacred in a cruel genocide. Don’t you dare put a smiling/blushing face next to the flag of a country that is trying to wipe out the Palestinian people. Your support of Israel is either one of harmful ignorance or one of heartlessness. Why do you so openly support a genocide? Do you not have a heart?

[@addienoelle3329]

Its fair to condemn the loss of innocent civilian lives. It should also be fair to condemn a Palestinian terrorist group known as Hamas that is anti-Semitic and wants to not only eradicate Israel, but also eradicate all Jews in general. Hamas was elected into power and not only have they murdered innocent Israeli people, they also murdered innocent Palestinian people. I’m not in support and don’t agree with everything the Israeli government does, but why is Israel being vilified and blamed when it’s defending itself against a deadly and hateful terrorist group that murdered thousands of innocent lives. Hamas are the real perpetrators of genocide. Not Israel.

[@TrottersPad]

​@@yuma5158 so what were you thinking on October 7th ???

[@ariksegal9932]

Ask Australia!!

[@cristitanase6130]

Politics... bs competition regardless.

[@ellaradet-kirby4501]

Maybe people also feel bad for Israel since they got attacked first, unlike Russia who attacked completely unprovoked. MAYBE. I dunno.

[@Xaneix-K]

If you read an actual history book, you'd know exactly who attacked first Israel has been attacking Palestine since 1948 It didn't start with October 7 It was never just about October 7 "Israel" has been attacking Palestinians even before it counted as a country There should absolutely be sympathy for all the innocent lives lost across the years but there should be NO sympathy on a zionistic genocidal state posing as the promise land

[@user-sl7ys1eg6z]

Israel not open the war

[@iaa9874]

I think it should be changed from pathetic Eurovision to "MiddleEastVision"

[@shanabrown9360]

What middle eastern countries participate? List them please 😊

[@emmanuelhernandez5173]

Why is everyone scared of Israel?

[@jpx08]

Double standards!

[@Selling_JAM]

This will be brutal for Israel

[@idan14021]

Because Israel didn’t start a war for territory like Russia, Israel defending their country after the huge terror attack on October 7th, and they are trying to bring their hostages home. I can completely understand the difference

[@sephoramandondo2548]

Your very naive of you don’t think a lot of Israelis want the Gaza Strip back. Infact some went boldly to CNN stated it.

[@rayan5150]

Despite it did. Its whole existence based on land grab and it keeps building more illegal settlements.

[@isse93Z]

Haha wow, typical comment from usual suspects. Israel’s to this day illegaly occupy West Bank. They kill civilians not only in Gaza but West Bank. They occupy the Golan heights. Get some education on the conflict before spewing Washington and Tel Aviv propaganda.

[@frayze5142]

By killing tens of thousands?

[@hellothere3097]

Israel has a great entry! Me and my fam and friends are all voting for Israel this year. ❤ From The Netherlands 🇳🇱

[@MovieEggman]

Voting for Genocide this year huh?

[@Masaim6]

This is a pretty good video, but it is a video you wouldn't be making if you supported Palestine. Also yes Hurricane is a song about October 7th, but it isn't a beautiful one. It's an obvious propaganda song hiding the genocide they're commiting in Palestine on the excuse of self defense. Also I think the EBU made a misjudgement in thinking this would lose them the least viewership and money as all of my friends I have talked to Irl are boycotting Eurovision and I have also heard my mom's friends are boycotting too.

[@user-ox8jq8he5k]

Theres a huge difference!!! Educate urself honey...

[@dindindin5139]

We always dance 👍🇮🇱🩷❤️🩵🩷💙❤️🩷🩵

[@dvdb59]

You call that neutral? Russia attacked a sovereign country, Israel was attacked...You never can be neutral like this...sorry

[@user-pe5qy1zw6y]

ISRAEL WAS INTENSE❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤