🔗 Share this article Eurovision Was Once a Campy Joy – But It Has Become a Cynical Way to Whitewash War. An recent acronym emerged a couple of months after the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Referred to as WCNSF, it signifies “Injured child with no living relatives”. This designation is found only in Gaza, as stated by doctors such as child health specialists. Normally, it is rare for doctors to treat a minor who has been bereaved of their complete family. But, there has been no semblance of normality concerning the devastating conflict in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been obliterated and the number of young amputees is greater than that of anywhere else in the world. Nothing normal about many doctors arriving back from a devastated terrain with testimonies of children being intentionally shot at. An Unimaginable Crisis Despite a Supposed Ceasefire Gaza remains hell on earth. Critical healthcare resources are not getting in those in need, and international watchdogs contend that atrocities are still being committed. The Israeli government has denied these accusations, just as it denies everything it is charged with. Meanwhile, while young survivors are now freezing in makeshift tent camps, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from advancing its stated mission of “unity and artistic sharing.” The contest will continue to roll out a prestigious stage for Israel, despite the fact that at least four European countries have now withdrawn in objection. Because this, apparently, is what international harmony looks like. Historically, Eurovision excluded Russia from taking part in 2022 over the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza seems completely different. A Selective Vision Disregard the reality that Israel was accused of questionable voting tactics last year in what seems to have been an attempt to manipulate Eurovision. Ignore the report that a toddler was reportedly killed in Gaza recently. Pay no mind to the evidence that settler violence and forced displacement in the West Bank have escalated. Disregard the condition that foreign reporters are still prevented from independent reporting in Gaza. This entire context, it would seem, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity. The Pageant Proceeds Amidst Unimaginable Suffering The contest turns 70 next year – almost double the average life expectancy of someone in Gaza today. The show may go on, but it will never be able to restore the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. An institution that once promoted togetherness has devolved into a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.
An recent acronym emerged a couple of months after the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Referred to as WCNSF, it signifies “Injured child with no living relatives”. This designation is found only in Gaza, as stated by doctors such as child health specialists. Normally, it is rare for doctors to treat a minor who has been bereaved of their complete family. But, there has been no semblance of normality concerning the devastating conflict in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been obliterated and the number of young amputees is greater than that of anywhere else in the world. Nothing normal about many doctors arriving back from a devastated terrain with testimonies of children being intentionally shot at. An Unimaginable Crisis Despite a Supposed Ceasefire Gaza remains hell on earth. Critical healthcare resources are not getting in those in need, and international watchdogs contend that atrocities are still being committed. The Israeli government has denied these accusations, just as it denies everything it is charged with. Meanwhile, while young survivors are now freezing in makeshift tent camps, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from advancing its stated mission of “unity and artistic sharing.” The contest will continue to roll out a prestigious stage for Israel, despite the fact that at least four European countries have now withdrawn in objection. Because this, apparently, is what international harmony looks like. Historically, Eurovision excluded Russia from taking part in 2022 over the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza seems completely different. A Selective Vision Disregard the reality that Israel was accused of questionable voting tactics last year in what seems to have been an attempt to manipulate Eurovision. Ignore the report that a toddler was reportedly killed in Gaza recently. Pay no mind to the evidence that settler violence and forced displacement in the West Bank have escalated. Disregard the condition that foreign reporters are still prevented from independent reporting in Gaza. This entire context, it would seem, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity. The Pageant Proceeds Amidst Unimaginable Suffering The contest turns 70 next year – almost double the average life expectancy of someone in Gaza today. The show may go on, but it will never be able to restore the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. An institution that once promoted togetherness has devolved into a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.