<article data-history-node-id="428916" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/germany-slams-eurovision-boycott-threats-over-israels-participation" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/germany-slams-eurovision-boycott-threats-over-israels-participation" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Germany slams Eurovision boycott threats over Israel’s participation</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p data-end="589" data-start="364">Germany’s culture minister has criticised threats by European countries to boycott next year’s Eurovision if Israel is allowed to take part, calling the move an attempt to politicise a cultural event.</p> <p data-end="776" data-start="591">Spain announced this week it would pull out of the contest scheduled for May if Israel participates, while Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands have issued similar warnings.</p> <p data-end="1013" data-start="778">“Eurovision was founded to bring nations together through music. Excluding Israel today goes against this fundamental idea and turns a celebration of understanding between peoples into a tribunal,” Wolfram Weimer said in a statement.</p> <p data-end="1225" data-start="1015">Austria, which will host the competition, expressed regret over the boycott threats on Friday. Belgium, Sweden and Finland are also considering whether to withdraw, with a final decision expected by December.</p> <p data-end="1438" data-start="1227">“Eurovision is based on the principle that artists are judged on their art and not on their nationality. The culture of cancellation is not the solution — the solution is diversity and cohesion,” Weimer added.</p> <p data-end="1585" data-start="1440">The European Broadcasting Union, which organises the contest, will decide in December if Israel will be allowed to compete in the 2026 edition.</p> <p data-end="1720" data-start="1587">Eurovision continues to draw massive audiences, with this year’s event in Basel attracting 166 million viewers across 37 countries.</p> <p data-end="1947" data-start="1722">The contest has increasingly been the focus of political tensions. Pro-Palestinian activists protested against Israel’s participation in Malmo in 2024 and again in Basel in May, as Israel pressed ahead with its war on Gaza.</p> </div> </div> </article>

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Mélenchon calls to just let the crisis “ripen,” but a socialist struggle must be waged in the working class to build rank-and-file organizations of struggle, and avert new sell-outs as in the 2023…