THE BBC was called on yesterday to follow a host of national broadcasters and boycott the Eurovision Song Contest, after organisers voted to include Israel despite its ongoing slaughter in Gaza.

The European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) initiative has already led to Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands withdrawing, with Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE the latest to join the boycott.

Ireland premier Micheal Martin said he “fully understands” RTE’s boycott as “an act of solidarity with those journalists who were killed in breach of international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza.”

Noting RTE’s editorial independence, Tanaiste Simon Harris said: “By way of context, we’ve seen hundreds of journalists killed throughout this horrific conflict.

“We still today see a situation where there’s not free access by Israel for the media to get in to actually see the atrocities that have happened in Gaza and you can’t just forget or ignore the fact that a genocide has taken place in relation to Palestine.”

The decision split Northern Ireland’s leaders as they joined the British-Irish Council in Wales yesterday, with First Minister Michelle O’Neill making clear she “absolutely agrees with the decision.”

“I think it’s a right and appropriate decision to take,” she said.

“This is the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time, when genocide prevails — and I think countries need to take action that actually sends a very strong message, and I think this is another one of those messages.”

Her deputy, Emma Little-Pengelly, was less impressed, arguing: “Quite frankly, boycotting a singing competition is not going to make one jot of difference in terms of moving forward with a peaceful resolution and permanent resolution to that conflict.”

For those who have long argued for the rights of Palestinians and an economic and cultural boycott of Israel while its illegal occupations and onslaught on the people of Gaza grind on, however, the action is necessary.

Palestinian Solidarity Campaign’s Stella Swain told the Star: “After two years of genocide, in which Israel has murdered more than 70,000 Palestinians, it is unthinkable that Israel would be allowed to participate in Eurovision.

Branding Israeli’s participation “pink-washing” — an attempt to use “the progressive image of Eurovision to conceal Israel’s multitude of crimes” — she continued: “Palestinians have called on the world to support their struggle against Israel’s illegal military occupation and apartheid by refusing to normalise it in all areas, including culture and media. 

“It is testament to the strength of the international solidarity movement that Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands have made the principled stance of boycotting Eurovision until Israel is rightfully removed for its grave human rights violations.”

Calling out apparent double-standards in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, she added: “The BBC must follow suit and not hide behind the fiction of Eurovision being ‘apolitical’, particularly after Russia’s expulsion from the competition.”

Adding his voice to the chorus calling for the BBC to withdraw from the contest, Scottish Greens culture spokesman Patrick Harvie, said: “This is a shameful decision and a dark day for the European Broadcasting Union.

“Once a symbol of unity and hope across Europe, they have turned the Eurovision Song Contest into a pink-washing front for war criminals in Israel.

“There can be no place for genocide enablers on the Eurovision stage, which is supposed to celebrate love and diversity.

“The atrocities inflicted against Palestinians in Gaza are among the worst crimes of this century and cannot be ignored and discarded in the name of entertainment.

“Russia and Belarus were rightly excluded following the illegal invasion of Ukraine. Why do the European broadcasters believe that Palestinian lives are worth less?

“With other countries withdrawing, the BBC should join the boycott and take a stand against Israel’s war crimes.

A BBC spokesperson said: “We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU. 

“This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.”