Finnish musicians advocate for exclusion of Israel from Eurovision song contest amid attack on Gaza

Finnish musicians and music industry professionals have endorsed a petition urging a reconsideration of Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, citing concerns about the "challenging" situation in Gaza.

The petition calls upon Finnish public broadcaster Yleisradio Oy to engage with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and assess the possibility of excluding Israel from the competition due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, as reported by various Finnish media outlets.

Should exclusion prove unattainable, the petition suggests that Yleisradio Oy, commonly known as YLE, should contemplate a boycott of the contest, as proposed by the signatories.

Although Finnish media reports around 1,200 signatures on the petition, the authenticity of the signatures remains unverified.

Timo Kamarainen, a Finnish musician and signatory of the petition, expressed his viewpoint in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat. Kamarainen highlighted the "challenging" circumstances in Gaza, deeming Israel's participation in Eurovision inappropriate. In a Facebook post, he stated, "To me, Eurovision represents the European community, peace, love, tolerance, equality. Israel doesn't deserve a chance to showcase its presence in this situation."

In a similar vein, Icelandic musicians in December echoed these sentiments, advocating for Israel's exclusion from the competition due to the conflict in Gaza, which has claimed over 23,000 lives.

Drawing parallels, the petition underlines the expulsion of Russia from the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest due to its invasion of Ukraine.