#also has a song called israel???????????

[foxmulderautism]

omffggg so bashar murad, the palestinian artist who collaborated with hatari (iceland’s eurovision act who held palestinian flags during the voting) and is now trying to represent iceland at eurovision, he had his first performance and qualified to the final of their national selection and HIS PERFORMANCE IS SOOOO GOOD he did amazing. it’s full of palestinian flag colours, watermelon imagery, the choreography is inspired by a traditional dance, and like i’m just so happy for him i’ve been following his music since 2021 (maskhara is a great ep btw!!!!) and the idea that there might be palestinian representation at eurovision, on such a massive stage that has also been used for such vile propaganda that the ebu welcomed, i just wish him nothing but the best

[saltinesinsoup]

eurovision fans: i can excuse blackface but i draw the line at a song about laika

[matan4il]

I'm gonna put it as simply and blatantly as possible.

Russia in 2022 attacked another Eurovision participant and made a whole bunch of other contestant countries scared of being attacked next, after already having attacked a fellow competitor in 2008 -> Russia got banned from Eurovision

Ukraine in 2022 got attacked, had its civilians targeted intentionally, did not choose to start the war, has no record of past attacks against ESC contestants, and is not currently posing a threat to any other Eurovision participating country -> Ukraine did not get banned

Israel in 2023 got attacked, had its civilians targeted intentionally, did not choose to start the war, has no record of past attacks against ESC contestants, and is not currently posing a threat to any other Eurovision participating country -> Israel did not get banned

There isn't a double standard, except for people who insist on not following the geopolitical logic. Same ones who didn't use Ukraine's retaliation activities against Russia as justification to get Ukraine banned, but are doing that to Israel, usually with a side dish of false, hyperbolic accusations that have nothing to do with reality.

Also...

The only flags allowed are of participating countries and the pride flag. The American flag is therefore banned. The Mexican flag. The Japanese, the Korean, the Nigerian flags. The world doesn't actually revolve around Palestinians, they're not actually the ultimate victims, and honestly, it's offensive they're cast that way when there are conflicts far worse and bloodier than the current war in Gaza, not to mention it takes away attention and help from them, to make everything constantly about the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, this is supposed to be the rule. Outside the performance hall, but within the borders of the Eurovision village, a visiting Israeli comedian called Guy Hochman was assaulted for walking around with the Israeli flag. Swedish police intervened, but they didn't act against the anti-Israel protesters who attacked and spat on Guy, they stopped him from openly carrying the Israeli flag. He asked why are they not allowing it, even though the flag is of a participating country, in accordance with the rules. He was told it's too dangerous. He then asked why are Palestinian flags not being removed, if they're banned according to contest rules, and was told that in Sweden, freedom of speech is above anything else. He was also grilled about whether he's Jewish by the Swedish policemen. Why was his flag denied, then? Why was his freedom of speech not protected, why was his Jewish identity a matter for questioning?

Another thing, the Swedish singer who ended up in third place in 2011 Eric Khaled Saade went on a childish rant crying over the Palestinian flag being banned (again, as if it's the only one), and as he was invited to perform this year, he got on stage live with a kaffiyeh tied to his left hand, even though he knew that was considered political, and therefore not allowed. Once more, he whined about it as if this is specifically against Palestinians, but you know what? The dress designers wanted to have a Star of David on the dress of the Israeli singer. She's a Jewish woman, that's a Jewish symbol, so why not represent her identity? But they were told that's "political." And you know what the Israeli delegation did? Followed the rules. You won't see the Star of David on Eden's dress. When they were told not to wear the hostage pin, because that's "political"? They followed the rules. When the Israeli song writers were told that their song, expressing Israeli pain, is "too political," what did they do? Followed the rules, they changed the lyrics. And you don't hear them crying about it all over social media and the news.

Not to mention, Eric Saade had no problem kissing the ass of Israeli fans back in 2011, when he competed and needed their votes. Was his dad less Palestinian back then? By the way, Israeli fans didn't hold his identity against him, they didn't demand he be questioned about Palestinian terrorists, or what his stance is on Hamas, they didn't drag politics into it, they focused on music and culture connecting people across borders and identities (as the ESC is supposed to do), and Israel gave its 12 points in both the semi and the final to Eric Saade that year. How did he repay those fans? Campaigning to ban Israel (and therefore them) from the contest, because he's incapable of seeing them as people first, and political rivals second, or maybe even (God forbid!) not at all...

It all smells like hypocrisy to me. But we all know this post won't get anywhere near the exposure (through likes and reblogs) that the lying, self-centered, hypocritical anti-Israel posts do. Doesn't matter. I'll still be here, speaking the truth.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[sarcasticscribbles]

BOYCOTT EUROVISION FOR ISRAEL PARTICIPATION.

I am the Eurovision gay this time of year, I love this show. Not only is my country hosting 2024 but it's also in a city I love, but I can't watch as people sing about peace and love while Palestinians are getting killed by one of the participants.

I've complied a couple of petitions, open letters and information regarding Eurovision: Eurovision isn't the highest priority regarding Gaza, but this show is marketing & tourism for countries, Israel is using it to pink wash their politics

According to SVT, Swedish television network in charge of Eurovision 2024 in Sweden Malmö, Eurovision is apolitical, and therefore Israel qualify. They refer to any calls for boycott meaningless ( via )

SVT statement:

[ID: "SVT statement on the debate over Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest

Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is generating debate and today a number of Swedish artists have called on the EBU to cancel Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. It is the EBU’s decision which public broadcasters may take part in the event, and as the host broadcaster, SVT follows the EBU’s decisions. The humanitarian suffering in this deeply complex conflict is devastating. Nobody can be left unmoved by the current situation in Gaza, or by the Hamas attack in Israel. We are also concerned about these developments. We understand and respect that groups of people wish to make their voices heard. As the host broadcaster, SVT has an ongoing dialogue with the EBU about the challenges of producing Europe’s largest TV-production in times of unrest. We are humbled by the task and are working to ensure the project can be carried out in the best way possible, with the vision that music unites." END ID]

Eurovision has always been political, and was created as a celebration of peace after WW2. Songs are statements, and EBU took action by banning Russia and Belarus for the invasion of Ukraine. It's a way to show sympathy and solidarity, which Gaza is in need of now.

Why Eurovision is so important to Israel is the opportunity of pink washing, and appearing liberal and LGBTQ-friendly, that the show encourages. This leads to great marketing and tourism for the country, alqueerian on twitter did a great thread about it:

[ID: Tweet from @ alqueerian on X formerly known as Twitter. Tweet: "A really quick thread on pinkwashing and why it’s wrong: pinkwashing is a term that was coined by LGBTQ Palestinians to specifically refer to the use of homophobia as a justification for israeli war crimes, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement, starvation etc." END ID]

Full thread

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Here are a couple of petitions, open letters and links to encourage the ban of Israel in Eurovision

And if all fail: we boycott

Here are two petitions for the ban of Israel: Petition 1

Petition 2

A list of emails and contact information for broadcasters regarding Israel participation: copy, paste and send. Document

It's created by verilybitchie on YouTube who also made a great call to action video I can recommend

[ID: Screenshot of verilybitchie youtube video "Genocide at the Eurovision Song Contest". The video is showing an article by Chris Lockeyer, news reposter, titled "Israel to compete at Eurovision despite boycott threats" The article says: "The European broadcast Union said its member organisations approved Israel's participation in the competition and it remains aligned with other competition organisations on its stance." The article is from December 19th, 2023. END ID]

And for Swedes, I think it's extra important for us to speak up; here's what we can do:

Open letter via Björk & Frihet, a charity in Skåne offer letters to sign but also have pdf version to print at home!

[ID: Photo from Björk & Frihet, a swedish charity offering open letters to sign to send to the government. "Stoppa folkmordet" as the letters are ladled, means "stop the genocide" END ID]

This is also a letter regarding the contest being held in Malmö, a city with a long history fighting for Palestine! Sign here

[ID: Vote for Swedes in Malmö to sign to protest Israel's participation in Eurovision. END ID]

Meanwhile, don't forget your daily clicks to help Palestine while we wait for EBU to stand by their words and prove we are united by music!

[ID: Iceland's Hatari holds up Palestinian flags during Eurovision in Tel Aviv, May 19, 2019. END ID]

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #1017:

During the second Semi-Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, Spanish commentators Tony Aguilar and Julia Varela made comments during the Israeli performance about the war in Palestine. The commentators mentioned the high death toll and the two questioned if Israel should be allowed to participate in the contest. The pair made no disrespectful comments or criticisms of Israel's representative, Yuval Raphael, during this discussion.

After a complaint was made by the Israeli delegation, the EBU threatened Spanish broadcaster RTVE with possible fines if similar comments were made at the Grand Final. Aguilar and Varela did not make any comments during the Grand Final about Israel, and instead simply introduced the performance. However, before Eurovision was broadcast on RTVE, a message was shown to viewers in both Spanish and English that read:

"In the face of human rights, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine."

As of writing, RTVE has not received any complaints or sanctions from the EBU over this statement.

Moreover, Telediario de La 1 and RTVE have drawn into question the current televoting system and have asked to discuss with the EBU if wartime conflicts effect the system. RTVE has also requested an audit of how the Spanish televote was distributed to each nation.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has also called for Israel to be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest saying:

"Spain’s commitment to human rights must be constant and consistent, including in Europe.

"If Russia was required not to participate in Eurovision after the invasion of Ukraine, neither should Israel. We cannot allow double standards, not even in culture."

Sánchez has been very vocal about Spain's support of Palestine.

[Sources]

"RTVE pide a Eurovisión abrir un debate sobre el televoto y «si los conflictos bélicos lo condicionan»," abc.es.

"Prime Minister of Spain calls for Eurovision to ban Israel to end ‘double standard’," metro.co.uk.

[eretzyisrael]

by Casey Babb

While the outbreak of antisemitism throughout the West has been precipitous in virtually every country—the tenor, violence, and extremist nature of Jew-hatred in Canada has ratcheted up in a way few other places on Earth have experienced.

Consider the following—much of which has gotten scant media attention.

Targeting Jews in Their Backyards

In September 2024 protesters sympathetic to Hamas and the “resistance” jubilantly rallied outside a Jewish retirement facility in Ottawa where several Holocaust survivors live, and where 60 percent of the residents suffer from dementia. Chants of “Go back to Europe” and “We want bullets and missiles!” in Arabic could be heard from their bedrooms.

On Remembrance Day in 2024 at Sir Robert Borden public school in Ottawa, where there is a large Jewish student body, a Palestinian protest song was the only song played during an event to honor Canadian soldiers. When pressed on the choice of music, Principal Aaron Hobbs said it was chosen to add some diversity and inclusion to a day usually about “a white guy who has done something related to the military.”

There have been numerous instances where, in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods, protesters have dressed up like Palestinian terrorists, including the October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protests surrounded the Holocaust Museum in Montreal in March 2024, where they shouted, “Death to Israel” and “Death to the Jews.”

At a softball game for teenage girls between Canada and Israel as part of last year’s Canada Cup Women’s International Softball Championship in Surrey, British Columbia, protesters stood on the sidelines wearing keffiyehs, holding signs that read “Israel is a genocidal state,” with another equating Israel with Nazi Germany.

In April, a pro-Hamas rally was staged in Winnipeg, just steps from a Jewish community center where children attend school and day care.

During Israel’s official day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism on April 29, protesters stood in front of Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue in Toronto waving Palestinian flags. One man wore a sweater that read “Palestinian Holocaust: Never Again Is Now.”

Earlier this month in Montreal, protesters were filmed chanting “All the Zionists are racists” through megaphones at a school for students ages 4 to 16 with intellectual disabilities and autism-spectrum disorders.

These activities aren’t normal protests. They aren’t in front of the Israeli embassy in Ottawa or the Israeli consulate in Toronto. They aren’t directed toward a specific Israeli policy, law, regulation, or act, and they certainly make no mention of Hamas, Hezbollah, or any other terrorist organization that has brought immense death and destruction upon the Palestinians. These are belligerent acts of aggression designed to intimidate Canada’s Jewish community, to coerce them into silence, and ultimately, to extinguish their public presence.Activists gather during the Stop The Genocide rally in Edmonton, Alberta, on April 13, 2025. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via AP)

Open Antisemitism and Valorizing Terrorism

In October 2024, men masked with keffiyehs took to the streets of Ottawa, calling for Jews to “go back to Europe”—a phrase they’ve repeatedly used everywhere from flag-raising ceremonies to synagogues to university campuses.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, protesters gathered on the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 massacre and declared “We are Hezbollah, and we are Hamas” while burning the Canadian flag.

Protesters have also gathered outside hospitals, such as Toronto’s Mount Sinai—a hospital founded by Jews—where patients could hear screams for an “intifada” from inside the building.

Last March, in downtown Ottawa—on the same streets where former prime minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the trucker convoy in 2022— a young man dressed as a Hamas terrorist taunted shocked onlookers, the flags of Lebanon and Palestine blowing in the wind behind him.

In November 2024, an estimated 50,000 students, as well as faculty, from universities including Concordia, McGill, and Dawson College took to the streets and campuses, where they overran buildings, destroyed property, and led schools to close. Chants of “Long live the intifada” could be heard, with one protester saying on camera, “The final solution is coming your way.”

In April, a man wearing a keffiyeh in downtown Toronto climbed onto scaffolding, lit an Israeli flag on fire, and doused it with gasoline, while chants of “All Zionists are racists; all Zionists are degenerates” could be heard in the background.

Violent Attacks

Since October 7, 2023, there have also been nearly a dozen terrorism-related incidents in Canada or abroad involving Canadians. These include:

A father-son duo, who had been planning a violent attack in Toronto, were arrested in July 2024.

Two Ottawa youths, plotting to attack the city’s Jewish community, were arrested in February 2024.

The September 2024 arrest of a Pakistani man studying in Toronto who was planning an ISIS-inspired attack against Jews in Brooklyn, New York.

The April arrest of a Yemeni man in Canada planning to join a terrorist organization in the Middle East.

An attack on Edmonton City Hall in January 2024.

A Canadian who traveled to Israel in July 2024 to attack Israeli soldiers.

And this list does not include the Jewish girls school in Toronto that was hit with gunfire on three separate occasions, the multiple shootings at a Jewish school in Montreal, the firebombing of a synagogue in Montreal, the firebombing of a synagogue near Montreal, the endless vandalism of Jewish-owned businesses, the vandalism of homes with swastikas, and the destruction of campaign signs for Jewish politicians running in the 2025 federal election.

Nor does it capture the anti-Israel indoctrination occurring at public schools, universities, and unions across the country, among many other things.

[mossadspypigeon]

as a fellow jew, being against the Israeli governments genocidal actions is not antisemitic. the singer in eurovision supports those actions, of course people are pissed the fuck off. in what world is it alright to massacre innocent people? you can claim hamas all you want, but the world knows the truth and the world is disgusted. bombing hospitals, shooting children, blocking aid, and starving people is not right no matter who you are. if you think otherwise you are a monster.

anon: in what world is it alright to massacre innocent people??? uwu

also anon: shits on the survivor of a massacre in the same paragraph while not acknowledging oct 7, a MASSACRE, at all.

you’re a joke. “as a jewwwww” lmao get away from me you boged trash. supporting people who want all jews annihilated isn’t a flex.

shooting children…😂😂 fam that’s hamas. hamas hides in hospitals and shoots rockets from them. hamas murdered babies with their own bare hands and kidnapped and branded children. hamas even uses aid to shoot rockets. hamas shoots their own children and anyone who tries to take aid. hamas controls the aid. hamas has murdered protestors.

gazans have been PROTESTING THIS. the head of a hospital there recently refused to let hamas use it as a base and received death threats from them. remove head from fucking sphincter dude and blame who is actually at fault, not your own people who were ATTACKED FIRST IN A MASSACRE.

https://archive.ph/UZYAA

and hey FELLOW JEW:

these are just some examples of why your points are ridiculous, including statements from a palestinian activist. maybe listen to palestinians not associated with hamas. if you care about them so much.

maybe also research what their nationalist movement states, what their leaders have said, what their polls say, what their education system teaches. but no, right? why research the other side when you can show you’re “one of the good jews,” by jumping to shit on your own people, including a survivor of the worst massacre of jews since THE SHOAH??

you want to talk about murdering children? maybe condemn the fuckers who murdered YOUR OWN PEOPLE. YOUR OWN BABIES. but nope i rarely see antizionist jews do this. so excuse me, but i consider every single one of you to be disgusting jokes.

[clumpofcellsnr6889725634]

To be clear, the reason I want Israel removed from the esc is not the war crimes, or the genocide, or anything that the government is doing in terms of the war. I think banning broadcasters from participating in the esc because of things their governments have done only limits the free speech and free press the esc works towards.

It’s also not because I don’t like Israel, don’t like Jews or because I don’t see Israel as part of Europe. I have a lot of sympathy for the Israeli people and for Yuval Raphael because war is horrible for everyone involved and we can’t forget that. The point of the song was not just straight up propaganda, but a way to find and offer solidarity in this horrible situation that the people in Israel find themselves in. I don’t have anything against Yuval.

The problem I have with Israel participating is that they use their ebu membership as a way to spread propaganda. You saw all the ads and publicity Israel got out of this situation. Year after year, Israel uses the esc as a way to spread propaganda. This year is no exception, as their song might not have been written to act as propaganda, but it certainly does a good job of making people have more sympathy for Israel and their situation (I do not have any sympathy for Israel’s government btw, only for the people of Israel who have no choice in the matter).

The esc offers a massive platform for the contestants, a place where people can reach a lot of people with their words, and that kind of platform, that kind of power, comes with great responsibility. And let’s be real here, people use that platform to spread political beliefs all the time (think ‘the code’, which is very pro-trans, or ‘ich komme’, which is very feminist), and the ebu has had the opportunity to reject those songs, with their political messaging and agenda as a reason, but didn’t. This, as much as the ebu likes to call themselves apolitical, is taking a political stance. The contestants are very limited in terms of what they can say in their songs or to the press, which the ebu does in fear that what they say will be attributed to the ebu. They desperately want to be apolitical but in not allowing anything “political”, they are also deciding what is and isn’t considered “political”, which is itself political. The ebu needs to face that there are certain issues they need to take a stance on (not that they haven’t done that before, with the esc being openly pro-lgbt for example, they seem to just refuse to take a stance on certain topics that I guess they consider more “controversial “(?)), and one of those things is whether they should be allowing propaganda in the esc.

[cottoncandytrafficcones]

10 Cool Jewish Women from Modern Day! Part 1

Raquel Montoya-Lewis, an American attorney and jurist on the Washington Supreme Court. Born to a father descended from the Pueblo of Laguna, she is a member of the Pueblo of Isleta. Her mother, born in Australia, is Jewish. She was also a professor at Fairhaven College, and was a judge for indigenous courts including the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe and the Nooksack Indian Tribe. She is the second Native American person to sit on a state supreme court, and the first enrolled tribal member!

Dana International, an Israeli pop singer. Born in Tel Aviv to a family of Yemenite descent, she identified as female from a very young age, and was inspired by Ofra Haza to become a singer. Dana was chosen to represent Israel in Eurovision 1998 with the song "Diva," and won the contest with 172 points. She represented Israel again in 2011.

Liora Itzhak, an Israeli singer from the Bene Israel Indian community. She moved to India at the age of 16, returning to Israel eight years later. While in India, she sang with Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan, and performed in the Bollywood film Dil Ka Doctor. Her music has gained recognition in both Israel and India. During the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Israel in 2017, she sang the national anthems of Israel and India.

Carol Man, a Hong Kong artist born into a traditional Chinese family. She converted to Judaism, and often combines Jewish and Chinese elements into her work, which includes a step-by-step guide to Chinese-Hebrew calligraphy. Featured in the Jewish Renaissance magazine and the Jewish Art magazine, she often gives workshops on her style of art.

Qian Julie Wang, a Chinese American writer and civil rights lawyer. Her father was a professor of English and critic of the government, which led to her family having to flee China. She graduated from Swarthmore College with a BA in English Lit, and earned her JD from Yale Law. She converted to Judaism, and founded a Jews of Color group at Manhattan Central Synagogue.

Sarah Avraham, an Indian born Israeli Muay Thai kickboxer. She was born in Mumbai to a formerly Hindu father and a Christian mother. Her family was close friends with Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, who were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. A year after the attack, her family converted to Judaism and moved to Israel. She volunteers as a firefighter, and is considering studying medicine. In 2012, she won the Israeli national women's Thai boxing championship in her weight class; in 2014, she won the Women's World Thai-Boxing Championship in Bangkok in her weight class.

Leza Lowitz, an American writer born in San Francisco who has written, edited, and co-translated over twenty books. She is an internationally renown yoga and mindfulness teacher. She has often written on the topic of expatriate women. She is married to a writer and translator, and has one son. Her work is archived in the Chicago U library's special collection of poetry from Japan.

Ellie Goldstein, a British model born in Ilford, Essez. She has been modeling since she was fifteen, and has worked on campaigns for Nike, Vodafone, and Superdrug. She is the first model with a disability (Down syndrome) to represent Gucci and model their beauty products.

Ashager Araro, an Ethiopian-Israeli activist. Born while her parents were traveling during Operation Solomon. She studied government, diplomacy, and strategy at the IDC Herzliya. She is a feminist who has spoken out about racism and police brutality. In early 2020, she opened a cultural center in Tel Aviv dedicated to Ethiopian Israel culture called Battae.

Sarah Aroeste, an American singer, composer, and author of Northern Macedonian descent. Her music often referred to as "feminist Ladino rock." Born in Princeton, her family emigrated to America from Monastir/Bitola during the Balkan Wars. In the late 1990s, she noted the lack of a revival for Sephardic music despite the revival of klezmer, and started her own Ladino rock band in 2001. One of her albums is named after Gracia Mendes Nasi. In 2015, she represented the US in the International Sephardic Music Festival in Cordoba. She has written several books, including children's books, with Sephardic themes. (Fun fact, I met her at the Greek Jewish Festival in New York!)

[pissmoon]

I kinda feel like im going 'water is wet' with this and no one who has more than 2 braincells and knows anything about punk needs this explained to them, but on the other hand this website is trashed with such bullshit takes on punk it sucks for teenagers who are first getting into punk to be fed nonsense like that. Ok longpost. Very egghead and not punk of me actually. I saw numerous posts around the time of US elections about how 'ur not punk if u dont vote' in this preachy tone about how punk is political and related to activism. I personally dont agree that punk has some One Singular Ideology bc there are different micro scenes and subgenres within it and oi! fans are quite different to crust punks and it also varies locally, there is a lot of oversimplification here but. This image of punk as a socially conscious movement that is so related to activism comes from the fact that at one point anarcho punk scene took off and punk as a movement became associated with anarchism. Do I really need to say more? Who told you that anarchists of all people believe in power of electoralism and that voting is some peak political action? There are more punk songs about how ur an idiot if u trust any politician and its all a farce than there stars in the sky. Anarchist punks promoted diy, squatting, food not bombs, mutual aid to show people what can be done instead of voting. Peace punk that is related to anarcho punk also criticized western countries for waging wars against global south. So calling voting for a cop (if u need some other water is wet ass take punks hate cops. Even the 'apolitical' and lowkey right-leaning ones do) that is arming israel 'punk' is the goofiest take on punk ive seen in years. I dont like the oversimplification that all punk is anarcho-punk and bigotry doesnt exist in punk but u ppl will talk about 'punk is inherently leftist' or whatever and you think 'leftism' in question is some 00s MTV pop punk band signed to umg being like 'republicans bad'

[fudgetunblr]

Not surprised that Eurovision is letting Israel compete after all, however I never want to hear them use the “we’re not a political contest” EVER again. The Russian invasion of Ukraine lead to a ban in the contest, as well as many other competitions, like the Olympics where athletes can’t compete under their flag, but when the Israeli state kills over 30000 people, where the mortality rate is higher than anywhere else, a war where more journalists have been killed than in any other modern conflict, when they commit a genocide against an entire population, the world goes silent.

It’s hypocrisy is what it is. And it’s certainly political.

The war in Ukraine is horrendous, and the effects of it have had a rippling effect throughout the entirety of Europe. But why is this genocide in Palestine that similarly has a rippling effect throughout the entire Middle East not get the same global outrage from certain world leaders? I commend the countries that are speaking out, the humanitarian organisations that have called for a ceasefire since forever and also the contestants in the Eurovision Song Contest who are boycotting the program because of Israel’s involvement!

Now it’s up to us to do the same. Boycott Eurovision!

[crowsintheforest]

2024 is the year where I got a job at a library (huzzah!!!) which meant that I read a lot. and a lot of that was from previous years! so here's my top 10 not of 2024 list, which is 40% books.

(end of year top 10 tag)

a wizard of earthsea (ursula k. le guin, 1968): I can't believe I've never read these books. I love le guin's writing, and excellent podcast "shelved by genre" reading these was a good incentive for me to actually get off my ass and read a bunch of le guin. her book of poetry from 2017 was almost on this list as well, beautiful and funny and old. going to go after more this year!

the seventh seal (dir. ingmar bergman, 1957): did you know that one of the classics of cinema is really good? also really funny? so go play chess with death and think about the end of all things

scavengers reign (joseph bennett and charles huettner, hbomax, 2023): this show made me weep. beautifully haunting and hauntingly beautiful, a scifi story that could be a cosmic horror if you forget that even the horrors are part of a greater ecosystem, and sometimes the horrors are not unknowable but merely unknown and strange. I still think about this show, and probably will for the rest of my life. best show of the decade so far.

look back (fujimoto tatsuki, 2021): putting the manga over the (also exceptional) ova because I think fujimoto's overall artistry hit just a bit harder. a story about the reasons we make art, and the companionship in finding another weirdo to make art with, and how we move on while looking back at what inspired us

a visit to san sibilia (peter eijk, 2021): I tried to play a few solo/journaling rpgs this year, and san sibilia was my favorite. also has a great playlist!

true detective s1 (showrunner nic pizzolatto, hbo, 2014): watched this after finishing aw2 and in the run-up to "night country" (also good, better in retrospect than I gave it credit for at the time), and this classic of Two Weird Dude Cops Coping Poorly with Manhood is excellent television. still bummed it wasn't as paranormal as it could have been, but them's the breaks.

"COUNTER/weight" (friends at the table, 2015-2016): come for the mecha rpg, gorgeous worldbuilding with millennia-old robots and sociopolitical intrigue, and the mashup of space/cyberpunk/giant robot anime; stay for aria joy scoring girls by failing super duper hard. also giant tarps.

gris (nomada studio, 2018): both the game and the ost, so I'm cheating here for a top 10. a story about grief and mourning and song and color, up there with scavengers reign for most beautiful thing I experienced this year.

palestine (joe sacco, 1991-1992): sacco's graphic journalism of his time in palestine during 1991 and 1992 is both of its time (specifically right after the first intifada, with ongoing riots and imprisonment and interviews with palestinians of all backgrounds) and imminently timely (given the ongoing genocide in gaza and israel's occupation of palestine). it's a hard project to read, but invaluable for being incredibly humanizing, and humbling, and necessary. sacco's upcoming collaboration with art "maus" spiegelman is going to be one of my most anticipated comics.

a memory called empire (arkady martine, 2019): do you like political intrigue space operas? do you like murder mysteries? do you like future cities heavily influenced by byzantium and the aztec empires? how about language, linguistics, and the reaches of empire? wait, this is tumblr. do you like messy gays? if so, have I got the book for you! (also the sequel, a desolation called peace, is fantastic, so you've got TWO books in one recommendation! aha, I cheat again at top 10 lists!)

[gemsofgreece]

OK some things about Greece's Marina Satti results and we're done with this

JK I am not done with Marina I love her but we're done with the circus Marina was in, for another year

So, she is a perfectionist but I hope she will soon understand how much SHE SUCCEEDED. And it will look like a love delirium but no I am not being biased.

Marina Satti got 11th place. Missed Top 10 by one. She was basically killed by the juries.

In the televoting she won 8th place. So she was in the top 10 of all people's votes. She was also 8th in the votes from the Rest of the World, which is a big deal in my opinion.

I won't be mad at the juries because their voting overall made sense in many ways and we were aware that Zari was a not jury-friendly song in any way. It had zurna, it had rap, obviously juries don't go for this stuff. So, it's okay. We knew that.

BUT Marina Satti got 8th - 11th place:

By singing exclusively in the Greek language.

By singing in an entirely Balkan, eastern melody during a year that a lot of the Balkans and East Europe had withdrawn from the contest.

By kinda rapping / reggaetoning, which is generally hated in Eurovision.

By doing exactly her thing, despite knowing how much she would be fought by certain people.

By knowingly choosing the very risky song instead of a ballad and a typical dance song that she also had available as options.

By not trying to be "understood" and get sympathy votes.

By being given a tiny budget from the Greek delegation, much smaller than any previous years including to last year's NQ lame tycoon nephew entry. So GD gave a famous artist like Marina much less money than to those small unknown kids that had gone before her. WTF

By being hated for her song and her (genius) music video and a large percentage of the population writing in English and asking foreigners to not vote for her and blaming her for insulting Greece, Greek culture etc (HINT: No she did not insult it and a blog called gemsofgreece tells you that so relax) and insulting her, her morals, her family, her father's descent and her talent relentlessly for three months

By the unprecedented thing of the freaking SHOWBIZ of the country making openly insulting attacks against her and her song. Like, seriously, there were FAMOUS celebrities going on TV and calling her song "cat vomit", a fashion designer (before her dress choice lol) saying she should go to Eurovision naked because there's no other hope for her to get votes. I am serious. You might say, oh, she must have done something. NO. Guys, no. She has never said or done anything wrong to any celebrity in the country as far as I am aware. She was attacked by musicians, fashion designers, TV shows and honestly nobody knows why. It's a different thing to not like something than to get a polemic position openly as a celebrity against another famous person. This has never happened before, I don't remember anything like this. Celebrities shitting on another artist's effort out of nowhere, especially in advance. To put it simply, now that Marina will have to return to Greece (poor thing), she has good reasons to sue half the country.

By losing her father one month ago.

By getting pretty ill during the semi-final, losing her voice and being administrated medication every three hours.

By suffering chronically from severe anxiety, which is why she refused three prior propositions from the Greek delegation to represent the country.

Well, by receiving a new massive wave of hate from people from or supporting Israel and the Greek government controlled media and press, who all started a fierce campaign against her the last two days before the final. The reason was that she showed intentionally boredom / sleepiness during the time the Israeli contestant was speaking. Make of that what you will, I am only presenting the facts of how her placement was formed here. Many Jewish people wrote they had voted her in the semi but now they wouldn't. I believe because Israel is an eastern country, probably several people of Jewish descent voted for her and then all those votes were lost. It's no matter, I am just explaining that she would probably otherwise be 7th in the televoting, 10th overall. Here we analyze if Marina succeeded her goal, we don't nitpick for Eurovision's sake.

And as you see, she succeeded. With all the odds against her, with a LOT of people hating her and making her life harder and her effort impossible, with the loss of her father, she succeeded in her vision. Bring back Greek language, the eastern sound and having the world dance with it. Shoutout to Armenia who also succeeded in this and made top 10, the song was a little more conventional. Let's be real, Satti achieved all this with a VERY difficult song. The definition of a difficult song and in a little known language. Nothing else, just congratulations to her and I hope she realises all this and does not let her trademark anxiety and perfectionism get the better of her. Also, she really created an international fan community with this and I think there are good things coming for her in the future :)))))

PS1: Odds had her 8th-10th place but they underestimated the juries and the last day's hate she got. In general odds were not very successful this year.

PS2. No worries Greek and Cypriot televoting exchanged the 12 points again :D

PS3: to the ageist haters who wondered why she looks 20 though she is 38, kitties reach her age and you will be crying to look like her

PS4: Marina’s 8th place in televoting was the best placement since 2013, surpassing Amanda and Stefania with the English jury friendly songs 😃😃😃 Greek delegation take a bloody hint

[finalgwen]

So I've been trying to formulate my thoughts on The Interstellar Song Contest for nearly the whole of the last week. Spoilers within.

This is a story that features a resident of Trion played by the star of one of my favourite musicals, and features the return of Carole Ann Ford as Susan as well as revealing two new incarnations of the Rani, all penned by the first trans woman to have ever written a televised Doctor Who story. This should be incredible.

And despite all that, I fucking hate that it exists.

For all the fun moments, all the fanservice and callbacks, all the nice gay side characters and cool sets and Dugga Doos, this is also a story where the Doctor tortures a space Palestinian.

Doctor Who has never quite been perfect politically. For as much as the show generally trends towards a progressive outlook, there'll always be those stories that show something darker, meaner. The Dominators and its scathing attitude to pacifists during the height of the anti-Vietnam War movement. The Monster Of Peladon suggesting that miners strikes are all just down to evil foreign influences. The unabashed racism of The Talons Of Weng Chiang. The ugly misogyny of how The Twin Dilemma treats Peri. The asylum seekers with secret plans of conquest in The Unquiet Dead. The twist ending of Kerblam! which says that the exploitative evil capitalist system isn't the actual problem.

The Interstellar Song Contest is worse than all of these.

I don't know if Juno Dawson thought it'd be subversive to put a message about Palestine in the story that was so intensely tied into the Eurovision Song Contest itself with cameos by its hosts and intense BBC cross-promotion (that was somewhat halted by Ncuti Gatwa pulling out of hosting the irl contest). The whole story of exploitation for 'Poppy Honey' seems to be a metaphor for Israeli company MoroccanOil, the actual sponsor of the contest, and this is almost a good idea!

But then by using that metaphor, you get the fact that the villain Kid is an analogue for the victims of decades of oppression and genocide, and... He's immediately coded as a terrorist, and later subjected to the prolonged torture scene where the Doctor electrocutes him and hands him over to the police. There's really no salvaging this.

I think the torture scene is meant to be a deliberate callback to Dalek, a story about the Doctor going too far based on his Time War trauma, an arc that ultimately culminates with him deciding not to use the Delta Wave, the weapon in Parting Of The Ways. But the trouble is, none of the payoff exists here. In Dalek, the Doctor is confronted by Rose as she defends the monster from him, he's pointing a weapon at her as she calls him out as more of a threat than his existential enemy, the titular monster telling him that he 'would make a good Dalek'.

In TISC, Belinda - a character explicitly framed in her introduction to be more skeptical of the Doctor than Rose's usual adoration - just says "But still, I never know what you're thinking, you scared me back there." and then they move on. This doesn't have the same emotional weight. There are no consequences. It's a callback that fails to understand what worked about that original story and what it said about the Doctor.

If instead of torturing him, you have the Doctor using his history to talk Kid down from using the Delta Wave, of affirming the choice he made all that time ago, suddenly that weapon being around makes so much more sense. You can then have him lead into the whole using the song to promote a message and preserve his culture, expose the Corporation, etc.

I think that would stop this from being the most wretched Doctor Who story of all time. I still don't think it would make a good one. With the current schedule of Doctor Who production, this was written years ago, before October 7th and the ongoing genocide that Israel has perpetuated ever since. We've seen this all happen in real time. The idea that 'awareness' like the ending promotes will do anything has been thoroughly wrecked by now, and the whole thing just seems even more insensitive. But I can't lay this on Juno Dawson's shoulders, she wasn't to know what would happen.

But she did write that fucking torture scene. And much as I'd love to have more trans voices in the show (in a better story, that bit about the horns would have been a great metaphor!), Doctor Who doesn't need someone who can write with this casual cruelty baked in. Please don't come back, Juno.

1/10

[justinsentertainmentcorner]

Mehdi Hasan at Zeteo:

Hollywood has been cracking down on pro-Palestine voices since Oct. 7th, 2023, from the firing of Melissa Barrera from ‘Scream 7’, to the demotion of CAA power agent Maha Dakhil, to Susan Sarandon saying her “projects were pulled.” It was, therefore, a rather pleasant surprise to see the most elite Hollywood audience of all - the crowd at the 97th Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theater on Sunday evening - loudly applauding and cheering a Palestinian onstage, in primetime, as he decried the “ethnic cleansing” of his people and the “atrocious destruction of Gaza.” Basel Adra is the Palestinian co-director of ‘No Other Land,’ which won the Oscar for Best Documentary on Sunday. The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four activists - Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor - and tells the story of the destruction of Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank, by the Israeli military. The title, ‘No Other Land,’ comes from a woman in the film who asks where else the Palestinians of the West Bank are supposed to go. Abraham, in his acceptance speech, not only highlighted the “ethnic supremacy” instituted by his country in the Occupied Palestinian Territories but also challenged the destructive role of the United States: “I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path [to peace].” Got that? Not only did a film about occupied and persecuted Palestinians win an Oscar, but the great and the good of Hollywood put their hands together for two speeches slamming “ethnic cleansing” and “ethnic supremacy” in Palestine. To quote the title of a previous Oscar winner’s best song: Times Have Changed. Nevertheless, they haven’t changed enough. As the New York Times noted on Sunday night, the film’s Oscar win represents “a landmark and a rebuke. Despite a string of honors and rave reviews, no distributor would pick up this film in the United States, making it nearly impossible for American filmgoers to see it in theaters or to stream it.” As I have said many times before, the biggest victims of so-called ‘cancel culture’ in the US remain the Palestinian people and their supporters. The shameful treatment of ‘No Other Land’ by the big distributors in our movie industry is just the latest and best example of that.

Glad to see a speech calling out Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza on the Oscars stage coming from the No Other Land directors Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra. No Other Land won the Oscars for Best Documentary, yet no American company wants to screen it.

[jewreallythinkthat]

Thinking about Eurovision (again). I actually really like Israel's song this year, but I can't help but partially want it to get to the final because I KNOW my ex-friends who have all been calling to boycott it will watch if Eden doesn't get through the semi-final because it's nothing to do with boycotting Eurovision, it's to do with being racist against the Israeli entry and an idiotic cultural boycott that does far more damage than good.

None of them have a spine or self respect. If they did, they'd still boycott it whether Eden gets through or not because it's about the "principle" but I know none of them will see it that way. They'll be on their high horses for not watching the semi-final which they don't watch anyway and then just go back to Eurovision as normal for the final.

(I also have plenty of thoughts about "political songs" at Eurovision - especially as Ukraine has won with them twice, come second once and also whatever last year's was. There are other countries too but Ukraine always do well cause they understand how Eurovision works so they are the most memorable)