Madonna accused of ‘supporting murder and genocide’ as she defends Eurovision gig

A photo of Madonna alongside the Israeli Eurovision logo


Palestinian activists have responded to Madonna’s insistence that she’ll go ahead with her performance at the Eurovision Song Contest. One accused her of ‘supporting murder and genocide’.

The show must go on?

The singer has stated that she’ll not allow people with a “political agenda” to influence her to stop singing. But the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) replied by saying that she should listen to the Palestinian people and cancel her appearance. This marks the second time that PACBI has called on her to pull out of the competition.

Speaking to Reuters, Madonna said that politics will never stop her from performing. She argued that:

I’ll never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda

She also maintained that she’ll continue to speak out about human rights violations regardless of who carries them out. And she went on to declare that she feels heartbroken when she hears about violence in the area. She finished by saying:

I hope and pray that we will soon break free from this terrible cycle of destruction and create a new path towards peace.

“True solidarity means heeding the call of the oppressed”

PACBI welcomed Madonna’s self-proclaimed support for human rights. But it did not appear to accept her reason for performing. It replied to her statement by arguing that “true solidarity means heeding the call of the oppressed”. It also asked her if she would have performed in apartheid-era South Africa.

Related articles

Read on...

PACBI further pointed to Israel’s use of celebrities and cultural occasions “to cover up its human rights abuses”. And for this reason, it contended that:

At a time when fewer and few major artists are performing in apartheid Tel Aviv, Eurovision is exactly what Israel’s far-right government needs to distract from its crimes.

It ended its statement by urging her and other competitors in the event to cancel their appearances.

Not so many fans

Many are not happy with Madonna’s stance. Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) tweeted:

One Palestinian activist, meanwhile, accused her of ‘supporting genocide’:

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) said she will “play music to suit Apartheid Israel’s political agenda”:

And Professor of Middle East Politics Laleh Khalili said that Madonna knows nothing about Israeli racism:

The Canary contacted Madonna’s team for further comment, but had received no reply by the time of publication.

Boycott Eurovision

Ticket sales for the Eurovision have been lower than expected. And the predicted number of tourists to Tel Aviv has been lowered from 20,000 to 5,000. This is likely because of the boycott campaign.

Madonna should listen to the Palestinian call for a boycott. But it instead appears that she has put her own ego (or bank balance) ahead of support for basic human rights.

Featured image via Wikimedia Commons – David Shankbone/ Wikimedia Commons – MateuszFret1998

We need your help to keep speaking the truth

Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.

Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.

We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.

In return, you get:

* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop

Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.

With your help we can continue:

* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do

We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?

The Canary Support us

Related articles