More than 5,000 km separate Iceland from Israel, and yet the Nordic country and the Jewish state oppose each other diplomatically through Eurovision.
Icelandic public television RÚV announced on Wednesday that a decision on the country's participation in Eurovision 2024 was still to be confirmed, if Israel was indeed authorized to also take part in the competition.
Since the attacks of October 7, Israeli reprisals, particularly in the Gaza Strip, have provoked numerous reactions in Iceland.
Accusations of war crimes against the Israeli army have particularly attracted public attention, while a petition launched by a local radio host against Icelandic participation has collected more than 9,000 signatures, which represents nearly 2.5% of the national population.
Petition and demonstration against Icelandic participation
In December, the Icelandic Songwriters' Society (FTT) publicly called on national television not to compete at Eurovision in May unless Israel was excluded from the competition "for the same reasons as Russia during the 2022 competition.”
As a reminder, after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian television channels were excluded from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the institution which organizes Eurovision.
Since then, Russia has not re-entered the song competition.
“We all have a duty to take a stand against war and the killing of innocent civilians and children.
We always have the choice not to put our name to such things, whether we are individuals or national institutions.
We must not share an event that is always characterized by joy and optimism with nations that use military force,” explained the FTT in mid-December.
A demonstration took place on January 19 in front of the premises of RÚV television, which immediately indicated on Wednesday that the decision concerning Icelandic participation had not been ratified.
It will be taken in consultation with the winner, at the end of the national selection for Eurovision 2024, “Söngvakeppnin”, on March 2.
Stefán Eiríksson, director of RÚV, has already announced that “no one will be forced to participate” and that the responsibility for the decision will not fall on the participants.
A Palestinian singer in the national selection
Furthermore, RÚV television confirmed this Wednesday that Palestinian singer Bashar Murad would be one of the candidates for the national selection for Eurovision 2024. The 30-year-old man is not unknown in the country.
Resident in East Jerusalem, he became known in Iceland in 2019, when he released the track “Klefi/Samed” with the electro-industrial group Hatari.
This duo from Reykjavik represented Iceland at Eurovision 2019 in Israel and was noted both for their atypical performance and for their gesture when the points were awarded.
In front of the cameras, they then displayed a banner of support for Palestine, while the competition was organized in Tel Aviv and many activists had tried to take advantage of the event to publicize the Palestinian cause.
Members of the #Hatari group representing Iceland during the 2019 #Eurovision contest thumb their noses by waving Palestinian flags in Tel Aviv.
pic.twitter.com/yyKsmbMney
— ismaël Houdassine (@ismaelScribe) May 18, 2019
Other countries have also criticized Israeli participation in the next competition which will be held from May 7 to 11 in Malmö (Sweden), such as Norway and Finland.
More than 1,400 Finnish artists signed a petition to this effect in early January.
The EBU confirmed on January 18 to the Swedish daily Aftonbladet that no sanctions were currently planned against the Israeli broadcaster Kan.