Eurovision Contest: An arena for Israeli-Palestinian war

Report by Raneem Bou Khzam, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

In what may have been initially perceived as an attempt to disperse protesting students against Israel, the scene unfolded not on the streets but rather at the Eurovision event. 

Eurovision, a singing competition uniting European nations and a few from outside Europe, including Israel, saw contestants performing under their respective national flags, often dubbed the "pop music Olympics."

This shift in conflict from universities to the Eurovision Contest reflects the tensions between Israel's supporters and defenders of Palestine. Following the performance of the Israeli contestant, videos circulated on social media showing audible boos from the audience.

Despite the controversy, the voting details of the program's followers have been revealed. The Israeli contestant ranked fifth. Eurovision voting is divided between public votes, which are scored, and votes from a jury panel from each country, excluding their own. 

Israel received only 52 points from the jury votes, with no jury awarding the maximum of 12 points. 

However, it received 323 points from public votes, placing it second in this aspect, with fans from 15 countries giving it the full 12 points.

In contrast, the UK jury did not award any points to the Israeli contestant, while it received a maximum of 12 points from the British public. Similarly, Italy's jury did not award any points, while the public gave full marks.

Ukraine did not vote for Israel either, neither through public votes nor through the jury.

While we know in principle which countries supported the Israeli contestant, understanding the behind-the-scenes of the voting process, including the age categories and affiliations of voters, and whether there was any organizational intervention affecting the vote count, remains challenging.

Thus, Gaza's battleground extends from bombs and bullets to university protests and now to the Eurovision stage, with protests and audience outcry. 

Who knows which new stage will become the arena for this escalating conflict in the future?