Kneecap, The Mary Wallopers, and Paloma Faith are among artists who have signed the No Music For Genocide open letter.
The letter was co-ordinated by campaign group No Music For Genocide (NMFG). Other artists to sign the letter include Brian Eno, Macklemore, Charlie McGettigan, Sigur Ros and Black Country, New Road.
The letter calls for countries to follow broadcasters in Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and to withdraw from the popular competition show.
NMFG has urged those involved in the music competition to refuse to participate until the show bans Israel.
The letter asks for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to ban Israel and references Russia's ban in 2022 due to the invasion of Ukraine. The letter states that this will be the third year that Israel will be “celebrated onstage despite its ongoing genocide in Gaza, while Russia remains banned for its illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
“We refuse to be silent when Israel’s genocidal violence soundtracks and silences Palestinian lives. When children in Israeli prisons endure beatings for humming a tune. When all that’s left of nearly every stage, studio, bookshop and university in Gaza is piles of rubble, under which slaughtered bodies still await recovery and proper burial," the letter continues.
NMFG letter called the EBU "hypocritical" for banning Russia from the Eurovision but have not banned Israel. Those who signed the letter stated that they "refuse to be silent" on the matter.
According to a statement from Kneecap cited by RTE, they said: "Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022. Israel has been murdering Palestinians for decades and is now committing genocide – and for the third year running, they're welcomed back onto the stage. That’s not neutrality. That’s a choice. We’ve paid a price for speaking out – lost gigs, court cases, visa bans – and we’d do it all again tomorrow. Silence is complicity. We stand with No Music for Genocide and every artist, fan and broadcaster who refuses to let the world’s biggest music event be used to whitewash genocide. No stage for genocide. Free Palestine."
NMFG organisers said: "Every year, for its entire 53-year tenure as a Eurovision participant, Israel has perpetuated its terrorising systems of apartheid, torture, land theft, and military occupation against Palestinians from the river to the sea with complete impunity. While many of us in the industry make light of Eurovision or doubt our own power as cultural producers, genocidal Israel’s leaders speak openly about the contest’s geopolitical value. NMFG stands with and amplifies the incredible grassroots organising efforts across Europe to boycott Eurovision until Israel is banned."
"From Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to direct actionists, from Film Workers For Palestine in Hollywood to striking dockworkers in Italy and Morocco, people of conscience around the globe are fighting complicity in every industry for a free Palestine and a freer world," they continued.
In protest broadcasters in Ireland have already withdrawn from airing the competition.
