Laurence Dollimore
SPAIN’S second deputy prime minister has accused Israel of genocide while blasting a national broadcaster for screening the Eurovision Song Contest final.
Yolanda Diaz took to X to express her fury towards RTVE, saying her left-wing coalition government would be ‘studying actions’ to be taken.
The Sumar political party leader, who is the second deputy PM of Spain out of four, said: “Our public television cannot allow a competition that defends peace and diversity be converted into an act of propoganda in the middle of a genocide.
“We will look at necessary measures so that RTVE cannot return to support Eurovision under these conditions.”
READ MORE: WATCH: Moment Israel is booed by crowd after Eurovision performance
It comes after parts of the crowd erupted into boos at the end of Israel’s performance at the Eurovision Song Contest final tonight.
Footage shared online showed the crowd’s frosty reception after Eden Golan finished singing her song Hurricane.
Moments after Israel’s performance, Spain sent the stadium in Malmo, Sweden into a frenzy.
Nebulossa blew the roof off following her performance of fan favourite ‘Zorra’.
The atmosphere in the run up to the final was said to be ‘tense’ due to the controversial inclusion of Israel, as it faces accusations of human rights absues over its military campaign in Gaza.
READ MORE: When and where can I watch Eurovision in Spain?
It came after the Netherlands’ entrant Joost Klein was disqualified over an ‘incident’ involving a female member of production.
The said ‘incident’ involving Klein is being kept under wraps, but according to reports, the Swedish police are investigating.
A member of the production team is said to have filed a complaint after the artist’s performance in the semi-final on Thursday.
“While the legal process continues, it would not be appropriate for them to continue in the competition,” the EBU added in a statement.
The organisation insisted the decision was unrelated to rumours of a fight between the Dutch interpreter and the Israeli team.
“We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, no other artists or members of any other delegation were involved in this incident,” it said.
Meanwhile, the delegation of the Netherlands said the decision adopted by the EBU was “disproportionate.” The statement also warned that “they will return to this matter later.”
It came after a group of protesters in neighbouring Finland stormed the facilities of the Finnish public television network Yle, demanding that the final be boycotted due to Israel’s involvement.
Activists sat on the floor and unfurled banners reading ‘Boycott Eurovision’ and to ‘stop the genocide.’
Protesters argue that Israel is using the event to improve its image and have urged Yle to defend its values by withdrawing from the event.
There were also fears of another drop out today after it emerged Ireland’s entry had not performed during the dress rehearsal.
The artist, Bambie Thug, explained via Instagram: “Dear Coven, There was a situation while we were waiting to go to stage for the flag parade rehearsal which I felt needed urgent attention from the EBU – the EBU have taken this matter seriously and we have been in a discussion about what action needs to be taken.
“This means I have missed my dress rehearsal – I am really sorry to the fans that have come to see me… I hope to see you on the stage tonight!”
The EBU said it was looking into the matter.
It comes as Israel has emerged as a favourite in the contest, despite having received boos and jeers during their semi-final performance.
Eurovision World, which creates betting odds using data from Europe’s biggest bookmakers, says the country has a 22% chance of victory.
It is only beaten by Croatia’s Baby Lasagna, which has a 41% chance.
On what basis can a member of the government be criticising the national broadcaster from doing just that – broadcasting ? The European Broadcasting Union took great pains to remove politics from the contest . The Israeli entry agreed to change some of the words of their song as originally performed so as to avoid controversy . There were some boos and cheers after the Israeli act finished signing . There were some statements exhorting peace made by some of the contestants . All in all it was a good humored and unpolitical event of dubious musical merit but one which clearly gave pleasure to many.
The contest did not look like a vehicle for Israeli propaganda as Ms Diaz appears to be claiming . However , her intervention appears highly political . The left wing coalition government of Spain , uniquely amongst the ruling parties of the other big nations of Europe , appears to have taken a very anti Israel view of recent events in the Middle East. The Partido Popular take the opposite view and were quick to condemn what they saw as the lukewarm condemnation of the terror attacks of 7 October 2023 by the Spanish left , in particular Podemos. Vox , whose leader visited Israel in December last year, were very open in their condemnation of Pedro Sanchez’s criticisms of the Israeli response to those attacks.
Unlike the position in the United Kingdom where both main parties support Israel’s actions , albeit to different degrees and far from uncritically , in Spain the conflict in the Middle East can only really be seen through the prism of the national divide between left and right. This has gone so far that the broadcasting by the national television network of a popular song contest , which did its best to be unpolitical , is seen as some sort of political act in support of right wing foreign policy .
The irony is that last night the Spanish public [ and that of the United Kingdom ] gave the Israeli song the maximum 12 points . Now that may have been a political statement but it is far more likely that lots of viewers just liked the song , which is as it should be . Good on the RTVE for doing its job .