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I may be a radical, but I think everyone should be allowed to participate, and if a country doesn't want to participate, so be it. The organizer should not be d

I may be a radical, but I think everyone should be allowed to participate, and if a country doesn't want to participate, so be it. The organizer should not be deciding which country attends in, which doesn't. OK fine, North Korea we can leave out.

a_paddy 1y ago
There is precedent, Russia is currently suspended, also for committing war crimes.
- alkyon 1y ago
  Other precedent was South Africa, where cultural boycott contributed to dismantling of the apartheid regime. This could also work for Israel.
  - piltdownman 1y ago
    Not to mention the fact that Ireland also has huge form in this area - having implemented a boycott of apartheid South Africa in 1987, becoming the first Western European state to do so. Ten young Dunnes Stores workers, aged between 17 and 24, refused to handle goods from apartheid South Africa because of how their government treated black people. This ended up with a strike lasting two years and nine months - unimaginable in the context of today's retail environments. https://mandate.ie/2024/07/the-day-10-workers-changed-the-world-the-dunnes-stores-anti-apartheid-strike/ https://mandate.ie/2024/07/the-day-10-workers-changed-the-wo...
    - rsynnott 1y ago
      The _word_ boycott (in its current meaning) also originates in Ireland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott#The_word_boycott https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott#The_word_boyco...
- xdennis 1y ago
  Russia was suspended because of the invasion. That would mean that Gaza should be banned from Eurovision (which I support).
  - disgruntledphd2 1y ago
    In that case, Israel should've been banned years ago, when they started building settlements in the West Bank.
- rsynnott 1y ago
  So, while, obviously, Russia is _actually_ suspended for invading Ukraine, officially they are suspended on a technicality.
oliwarner 1y ago
Why single out North Korea? All countries are equal but some counties are more equal than others?
WastedCucumber 1y ago
Well, we can also leave North Korea out of the Eurovision Song Contest because it's not part of Europe.
- AlecSchueler 1y ago
  Israel and Australia aren't part of Europe either.
ath3nd 1y ago
Israel is currently committing a genocide in Palestine. It's like inviting the KKK or Nazi war criminals to board game night. Hard pass on anything including Israel until they stop the genocide and repay Palestine for the unspeakable horrors they inflicted and continue inflicting on them. Russia, another country headed by a war criminal, is also excluded.
- exodust 1y ago
  Israel isn't committing genocide except in the minds of pro-palestine activists, many of whom refer to Hamas terrorism as "resistance" more than the more suitable description, to use your words (and the words of the UN incidently) "unspeakable horror". Meanwhile, the ones who say they would commit genocide if given any chance at all, are the ones Israel is at war with.
  - croon 1y ago
    > Israel isn't committing genocide except in the minds of pro-palestine activists, many of whom refer to Hamas terrorism as "resistance" more than the more suitable description What do you make of Netanyahu himself in regards to Hamas support? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_support_for_Hamas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_support_for_Hamas > In a cable leaked by WikiLeaks in 2010, Amos Yadlin, former general of the Israeli Air Force, said in 2007 that Israel would be "happy" if Hamas take over Gaza and regarded it as a positive step, so they could treat Gaza as a hostile state.[37][38] > In an interview with Israeli journalist, Dan Margalit in December 2012, Netanyahu told Margalit that it was important to keep Hamas strong, as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Netanyahu also added that having two strong rivals, this would lessen pressure on him to negotiate towards a Palestinian state.[11] > In an interview with the Israeli Army Radio in August 2019, Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001, said that Netanyahu's main strategy is to keep Hamas "alive and kicking" in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority, even at the expense of "abandoning the citizens [of the south]."[48] > Bibi made a deal with Qatar and they started to move millions and millions of dollars to Gaza."[49] At a Likud party conference in 2019, Benjamin Netanyahu said: > "Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas ... This is part of our strategy – to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank."[50][51] > Gershon Hacohen, former commander of the 7th Armored Brigade and an associate of Benjamin Netanyahu, said in 2019 in an interview:[54] > “Netanyahu’s strategy is to prevent the option of two states, so he is turning Hamas into his closest partner. Openly Hamas is an enemy. Covertly, it’s an ally.”[55] > Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right lawmaker and finance minister under Netanyahu Government, called the Palestinian Authority a "burden" and Hamas an "asset".[56][57]

a_paddy 1y ago

There is precedent, Russia is currently suspended, also for committing war crimes.

alkyon 1y ago
Other precedent was South Africa, where cultural boycott contributed to dismantling of the apartheid regime. This could also work for Israel.
- piltdownman 1y ago
  Not to mention the fact that Ireland also has huge form in this area - having implemented a boycott of apartheid South Africa in 1987, becoming the first Western European state to do so. Ten young Dunnes Stores workers, aged between 17 and 24, refused to handle goods from apartheid South Africa because of how their government treated black people. This ended up with a strike lasting two years and nine months - unimaginable in the context of today's retail environments. https://mandate.ie/2024/07/the-day-10-workers-changed-the-world-the-dunnes-stores-anti-apartheid-strike/ https://mandate.ie/2024/07/the-day-10-workers-changed-the-wo...
  - rsynnott 1y ago
    The _word_ boycott (in its current meaning) also originates in Ireland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott#The_word_boycott https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott#The_word_boyco...
xdennis 1y ago
Russia was suspended because of the invasion. That would mean that Gaza should be banned from Eurovision (which I support).
- disgruntledphd2 1y ago
  In that case, Israel should've been banned years ago, when they started building settlements in the West Bank.
rsynnott 1y ago
So, while, obviously, Russia is _actually_ suspended for invading Ukraine, officially they are suspended on a technicality.

oliwarner 1y ago

Why single out North Korea? All countries are equal but some counties are more equal than others?

WastedCucumber 1y ago

Well, we can also leave North Korea out of the Eurovision Song Contest because it's not part of Europe.

AlecSchueler 1y ago
Israel and Australia aren't part of Europe either.

ath3nd 1y ago

Israel is currently committing a genocide in Palestine. It's like inviting the KKK or Nazi war criminals to board game night. Hard pass on anything including Israel until they stop the genocide and repay Palestine for the unspeakable horrors they inflicted and continue inflicting on them. Russia, another country headed by a war criminal, is also excluded.

exodust 1y ago
Israel isn't committing genocide except in the minds of pro-palestine activists, many of whom refer to Hamas terrorism as "resistance" more than the more suitable description, to use your words (and the words of the UN incidently) "unspeakable horror". Meanwhile, the ones who say they would commit genocide if given any chance at all, are the ones Israel is at war with.
- croon 1y ago
  > Israel isn't committing genocide except in the minds of pro-palestine activists, many of whom refer to Hamas terrorism as "resistance" more than the more suitable description What do you make of Netanyahu himself in regards to Hamas support? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_support_for_Hamas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_support_for_Hamas > In a cable leaked by WikiLeaks in 2010, Amos Yadlin, former general of the Israeli Air Force, said in 2007 that Israel would be "happy" if Hamas take over Gaza and regarded it as a positive step, so they could treat Gaza as a hostile state.[37][38] > In an interview with Israeli journalist, Dan Margalit in December 2012, Netanyahu told Margalit that it was important to keep Hamas strong, as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Netanyahu also added that having two strong rivals, this would lessen pressure on him to negotiate towards a Palestinian state.[11] > In an interview with the Israeli Army Radio in August 2019, Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001, said that Netanyahu's main strategy is to keep Hamas "alive and kicking" in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority, even at the expense of "abandoning the citizens [of the south]."[48] > Bibi made a deal with Qatar and they started to move millions and millions of dollars to Gaza."[49] At a Likud party conference in 2019, Benjamin Netanyahu said: > "Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas ... This is part of our strategy – to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank."[50][51] > Gershon Hacohen, former commander of the 7th Armored Brigade and an associate of Benjamin Netanyahu, said in 2019 in an interview:[54] > “Netanyahu’s strategy is to prevent the option of two states, so he is turning Hamas into his closest partner. Openly Hamas is an enemy. Covertly, it’s an ally.”[55] > Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right lawmaker and finance minister under Netanyahu Government, called the Palestinian Authority a "burden" and Hamas an "asset".[56][57]