Boycotting Eurovision over Israel ‘not the right way to go’, says Varadkar

The Irish premier was responding to calls for a boycott over Israel’s participation.

(Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

Ireland’s leaders have indicated they would not support calls to boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates.

National broadcaster RTE has received hundreds of emails urging a boycott in a stance against the conflict involving Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said withdrawing from any competition because Israel was there would be “biting off your nose to spite your face”, while deputy premier Micheal Martin said he did not think such a boycott would have much impact.

The only thing you do there is exclude our athletes, exclude our musicians

Leo Varadkar

Speaking during their annual end-of-year sit-down with reporters, the Taoiseach said he did not think a unilateral boycott of any sporting or musical event or competition would be the “right way to go”.

“I think it’s one thing for a country to be excluded from a competition, whether it’s a music competition or a sports competition, and we have seen, for example, Russia excluded from some competitions. That’s one thing,” he said.

“But for us to unilaterally boycott something, to remove ourselves from a competition – whether it’s Eurovision, whether it’s the Olympics, whether it’s boxing, whether it’s cycling – just because Israel is there. To me, that’s biting off your nose to spite your face.

“The only thing you do there is exclude our athletes, exclude our musicians. So I don’t think a unilateral boycott by Ireland of any sporting event or any musical event or competition is the right way to go.”

Eurovision will take place in Malmo, Sweden, next May, and Mr Varadkar expressed reservations when asked if Israel should be excluded.

“That’s obviously a matter for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to decide, but one thing I would say is that Israel is a country of about nine million people now,” he said.

“That includes two million Arabs, Christians, Palestinians. It also includes a lot of people in Israel who are liberals, who do not necessarily support their government, who would like to see a two-state solution, and the difficulty, I think, with boycotts is that you can end up ostracising and alienating the people who we actually need to engage with.

“And let’s not forget that one of the previous winners of the Eurovision was a trans woman, Dana International, and there’s a whole society of people in Israel, particularly in Tel Aviv and other places, that are liberals that have a western liberal outlook.

“And we just need to have regard to the possibility that by ostracising their country or by demonising their country or excluding their country from international life, that we might actually make it harder for them to make the case for peace, to make the case for human rights within Israel, which is something they’re trying to do and they find very hard in the current environment.”

Tanaiste and Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said Ireland’s focus is on efforts to persuade Israel to “stop the war on Gaza and to create a meaningful process to a political pathway”.

“I’m not clear that boycotting (Eurovision) will create that result,” he said.

“There’s a much greater complexity to this issue than is sometimes given credence to, and you can boycott and so on or call for boycotts of the Eurovision – I understand why people would call for that and feel they must look at every opportunity – but in terms of its impact I’m not clear that it would have any impact.

“I think my own assessment right now, it could potentially have a counterproductive impact. But I am very clear that we need to maintain the focus on the real challenges.

“Diplomacy is the only way we’re going to get this brought to an end. And that’s working with our neighbouring states in the Middle East also.

“But what’s critical is an immediate ceasefire now, to be followed up by a very serious, substantive political action with a view to getting a pathway to a political solution, which ultimately has to be the two-state solution.”