Sir, – We Palestinian singers, songwriters, dancers, musicians and other artists urge all Eurovision 2019 finalists to withdraw from the contest, to avoid participating in Israel’s explicit agenda of using international artists’ appearances to whitewash its crimes against humanity.
The Tel Aviv convention centre hosting Eurovision is built atop the ethnically cleansed Palestinian village of al-Shaykh Muwannis. “Eurovision Village”, where fans will celebrate, is located in a park built on top of Manshiya, another of the more than 500 Palestinian localities destroyed and emptied of Palestinians to make way for apartheid Israel.
Just along the coast from Tel Aviv is the besieged Gaza Strip, where Israel has caged two million of us. Most in Gaza are refugees from previous Israeli aggression, and most are children.
Almost no-one and nothing can enter or leave. Israeli snipers, tanks and aircraft killed more than 200 Palestinians here last year, including children, and maimed thousands more.
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As Palestinian artists – brutalised, besieged, occupied and exiled – we cannot offer the glitz and glamour of Eurovision. We can offer something much bigger: a place in the history books.
We will never forget Irish store worker Mary Manning and her colleagues, who in 1984 refused to handle apartheid South African produce. Their selfless actions led directly to Ireland banning South African goods.
Shortly after Nelson Mandela was freed, he met those brave workers, saying their stand had inspired him. When years later he died, they were invited to his funeral.
The contestants’ history is not yet written. We encourage them to write it. – Yours, etc,
TAREQ ABBOUSHI,
(musician, composer),
DYALA ABDALLAH,
(dancer),
FATHI ABDELRAHMAN,
(theatre director),
SAMA ABDULHADI,
(DJ, producer),
WALEED ABDULSALAM,
(musician, singer, actor),
KHALID ABU AL SABER, dancer, actor
RAYAN ABU DAYEH, dancer
KHALID ABU ERAM, dancer
TAMER ABU GHAZALEH, singer, composer
MIRA ABU HILAL, singer
YOUMNA ABU HILAL, singer
LAMA ABU HILAL, singer
AHMAD ABU RAHMEH, dancer
ABAD ABU SWAI, singer
MOHAMMAD ABU TALIB, circus performer
ALAA ABULRUB, circus performer
RAMZI ABUREDWAN, musician, composer
SHAHD ABUSALAMA, dancer
MURAD AL ASHHAB, dancer
MANAR AL AZZA, dancer
KAMAL ALJAFARI, filmmaker
RAED ANDONI, filmmaker
ÉMILE ANDRE SABA, theatre actor, director
YOUSEF AREF SBEIH, dancer
NADIA AROURI, dancer
MAHMOUD AWAD, musician, singer
MANAL AWAD, actor
HAZAR AZZEH, circus performer
MOHAMMAD AZZEH, circus performer
NIDAL BADARNEH, actor, director
MOHAMMAD BAKRI, actor, director
SALEH BAKRI, actor
ZIAD BAKRI, actor, filmmaker
NAI BARGHOUTI, singer
NABIL BEY, musician, singer, songwriter
SAMER BISHARA-SHAHOUK, musician
ASHRAF DABBAH, musician
CHERIEN DABIS, filmmaker
SHARAF DARZAID, dancer, choreographer
HAIDAR EID, musician, author
MOHAMMAD EID, actor
SAMIR ESKANDA, musician
BAKER EWISS, dancer
MOHAMMAD FARAKHNA, dancer
IBRAHEM FENO, dancer, choreographer
MAHDI FLEIFEL, film director
THAER FUAD, dancer
MUTASIM GHAITH, circus performer
YASMIN HADI, dancer
HENA HAJ HASAN, singer
JACOB HAMMODEH, musician, composer
EHAB HANIYAH, musician
DIA HARB, actor
AMMAR HASSAN, singer
MIDHAT HUSSEINI, musician
RIHAM ISAAC, actor, director
LEEN ISSA, dancer
YAZAN IWIDAT, dancer, choreographer
ANNEMARIE JACIR, filmmaker, poet
AYHAM JALAL, musician
SAMER JARADAT, musician, producer
SALWA JARADAT, singer
NIVIN JAYUSI, singer, musician
AHMAD JOUBEH, circus performer
SAMIR JOUBRAN, musician
KAMILYA JUBRAN, singer, songwriter, musician
REMI KANAZI, poet
SAMER KARAJA, dancer, choreographer
MAJDOLEEN KARAKRA, dancer
MUTAZ KAWASMI, dancer, photographer
REEM KELANI, singer, musician
HANNAH KHALIL, playwright
ATA KHATAB, dancer, choreographer
NADIA KHATAB, dancer
FIRAS KHOURY, actor
RAED KOBARI, musician
RAMZI MAQDISI, actor, filmmaker
AHMED MASOUD, author, playwright
GEORGE MATAR, dancer, choreographer
JENIN MERRI, dancer
SANAA MOUSSA, singer
EDWARD MU’ALIM, actor
SALEEM NABALI, actor, dancer
GHASSAN NADDAF, playwright
TAMER NAFAR, rapper, actor
IBRAHIM NAJM, musician
IBRAHIM NASRALLAH, poet, novelist, painter
TAMER NASSAR, musician
MAI ODEH, filmmaker, producer
HAFEZ OMAR, graphic designer
IMAN OUN, actor, director
MOHAMMAD QUTATI, musician
YASSAR S’ADAT, musician
GANDHI SAAD, musician
JOWAN SAFADI, musician
MOHAMMAD SAFADI, dancer
AHMAD SAJADEHE, dancer
FARAH SALEH, dancer, choreographer
KAREEM SAMARA, musician
NIVEEN SAWI, singer
YASMIN SAMEER SHALADAH, actor
AMER SHOMALI, filmmaker, visual artist
TEREZ SLIMAN, singer, songwriter
YANAL STAITI, musician
LOAI TAFESH, dancer, choreographer
HANNA TAMS, dancer, choreographer
ISSAM TURKI, circus performer
RENAD URI, dancer
AMER ZAHR, comedian, writer
ZEINA ZAROUR, theatre director
RAFEEF ZIADAH, poet
SHADI ZOMORROD, circus school founder
NICOLA ZREINEH, actor.