Protesters hold rally outside RTE calling for boycott of Eurovision
Ireland's national broadcaster has been called on to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest over Israel's inclusion in the competition.
Irish actor Stephen Rea read the poem If I Must Die by Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, as he joined scores of protesters gathered at the main entrance to RTE's campus in the Donnybrook area of Dublin on Friday evening.
The demonstrators, some wearing keffiyehs, waved Palestinian flags and held up banners with slogans including 'you can't culturewash genocide' and 'you need to boycott Israel now'.
Organisers staged a mini-concert featuring short speeches as well as musical performances of anti-war and pro-Palestinian songs.
Actor Stephen Rea attended the protest (Brian Lawless/PA)
Those taking part were calling for Ireland to boycott Eurovision 2025, saying more than 70 former contestants have backed the campaign to see Israel's national broadcaster KAN banned.
They note that the organisation behind the event, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), indefinitely suspended Russia and Belarus in 2022.
The event featured artists, musicians and LGBT and human rights activists as well as the chairman of an RTE sub-branch of the NUJ Trevor Keegan.
People attend a pro-Palestine protest outside RTE in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)
News in 90 seconds - 10th May 2025
RTE director general Kevin Bakhurst said it would not pull its entry – Laika Party performed by singer Emmy – out of the competition.
However, he said he had written to the EBU, chaired by Irishman and former RTE director general Noel Curran, to ask for a 'discussion' on Israel's inclusion in the contest in May.
People attend a pro-Palestine protest outside RTE in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign chairwoman Zoe Lawlor accused Israel's national broadcaster of attempting to 'culturewash' an apartheid ideology at Eurovision.
She said: 'It's vital to exclude the genocidal apartheid state of Israel from this global cultural platform now.
'Ireland showed the way in the 1980s, standing resolutely against the racist and murderous crimes of apartheid South Africa.
'RTE can help do the same now, by withdrawing its participation and standing on the side of humanity, equality and human rights.'
A pro-Palestine demonstration outside BBC Blackstaff Studios in Belfast (David Young/PA)
Earlier on Friday, several pro-Palestine demonstrators picketed outside a BBC studio in Belfast city centre.
The activists banged dustbin lids on walls and shouted chants criticising the corporation's coverage of the conflict in Gaza.
They also called for a boycott of Eurovision, to which the BBC is sending Remember Monday with the song What the Hell Just Happened?
Eurovision, which is hosted by the EBU, will begin on May 13 in Switzerland with the final on May 17.
Israel is set to be represented at the contest by Yuval Raphael, 24, a survivor of the October 7 2023 Hamas attack.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
9 minutes ago
- Sunday World
Dublin ‘buzzing' ahead of Oasis' return to Ireland
Tens of thousands of fans have descended on the capital for the first of two sold-out gigs at the country's largest stadium Oasis fans, Lisa and Alan Roe have been waiting for years to see the band (Cillian Sherlock/PA) Dublin City is 'buzzing' as Oasis return to Ireland for the first time in 16 years, fans said. Tens of thousands of fans have descended on the capital for the first of two sold-out gigs at the country's largest stadium. The 90s Britpop superstars will perform to 80,000 people at Croke Park on Saturday and Sunday nights. Croke Park will see Oasis' first performance in Ireland since a dramatic split in 2009 (Cillian Sherlock/PA) After an 'in-demand' dynamic pricing model left a poor taste for some fans last year, ticket-holders will roll with it and enjoy the music in temperatures above 20C. Health officials advised revellers to wear their bucket hats, with high UV levels predicted amid warm and dry sunny spells in Dublin on Saturday. The band's first gig in the country since 2009, the Dublin leg of the reunion world tour will hold a special meaning for once-feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher. The Mancunian brothers have spoken about their ties to Ireland through their Irish-born parents, Peggy and Thomas. Sarah and Neil Charlton travelled from Southampton to see the band, after a determined search for standing tickets saw them clinching access in Dublin. Mr Charlton said they have both been waiting a long time to see the band reunite – having seen Oasis multiple times before their extended hiatus. The Oasis reunion has been a huge event in the cultural calendar (Cillian Sherlock/PA) He told the PA news agency: 'We thought: what a great city to come to and see the gig and have a couple of nights out in Dublin.' Mr Charlton added: 'It's just so nostalgic – all the songs and all the music from when we were growing up. 'When we first started seeing each other, we went to a gig and so it's always been a part of our lives together.' Oasis formed part of the romantic story for Lisa and Alan Roe too, who said their love of the band dates back to when they got married in the 1990s. Mr Roe said: 'Because the two of them are after getting back together after so many years, to be able to sell out a world tour the way they did – and their music going back to the late 80s and 90s. 'That brings an aura about in everybody and a buzz and the memories of growing up in Dublin with them – it's absolutely out of this world.' The atmosphere is building for Oasis fans, Anthony and Tara Hayes with Paudie and Nicky Hayes (front left and right) (Cillian Sherlock/PA) Having had to wait a long time for the reunion tour, Sinead Millea from Kilkenny – who previously saw the band in Limerick in 1996 – said: 'Maybe we're all going through a bit of a midlife crisis – I turned 50 this year, and look, Noel and Liam, they're in their 50s as well. 'And maybe things just dawned on them that life is too short and just, let's put grievances to bed. 'They seem to be getting on great, and it's fabulous. And at the end of the day, music transcends everything, and we're all here to enjoy a brilliant night and to share it with the people that mean the most. Oasis fans, Lisa and Alan Roe have been waiting for years to see the band (Cillian Sherlock/PA) News in 90 Seconds - August 16th 'It's just amazing. The weather is fabulous and it's a brilliant venue.' The support acts for the Dublin dates are Richard Ashcroft from The Verve and Cast, formed by John Power after he left The La's. The setlist has crowd-pleasing hits such as Cigarettes And Alcohol and Wonderwall. Fans have also been treated to favourites including Acquiesce, Some Might Say and Morning Glory – before a Don't Look Back In Anger, Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova crescendo. Oasis announced their reunion tour in August last year, 16 years after their dramatic split in 2009, when Noel quit after a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris. The highly anticipated 41-date run has already seen the band play Cardiff, Manchester, London and Edinburgh before taking them half the world away to major cities, including in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Japan.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Baby girl killed with her parents in Gaza airstrike
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a baby girl and her parents on Saturday, hospital officials and witnesses said, while families of hostages called for a 'nationwide day of stoppage' in Israel to express growing frustration over 22 months of war. The baby's body, wrapped in blue, was placed on those of her parents as Palestinians prayed over them. Motasem al-Batta, his wife and the child were believed to have been killed in their tent in the crowded Muwasi area. 'Two and a half months, what has she done?' neighbour Fathi Shubeir said. 'They are civilians in an area designated safe.' Israel's military said it is dismantling Hamas's military capabilities and takes precautions not to harm civilians. It said it could not comment on the strike without more details. A Palestinian man carries the body of his seven-year-old nephew who, according to the family, was killed in an Israeli army airstrike on Friday night (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Muwasi is one of the heavily populated areas in Gaza where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel plans to widen its coming military offensive. The mobilisation of forces is expected to take weeks, and Israel may be using the threat to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages taken in its October 7 2023 attack that sparked the war. Families of hostages fear the coming offensive further endangers the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, just 20 of them thought to be alive. They and other Israelis were horrified by the recent release of videos showing emaciated hostages, speaking under duress, pleading for help and food. A group representing the families has urged Israelis onto the streets on Sunday. 'Across the country, hundreds of citizen-led initiatives will pause daily life and join the most just and moral struggle: the struggle to bring all 50 hostages home,' it said in a statement. Palestinian and Israeli activists took part in a protest against the killing of journalists in Gaza as they gathered in the West Bank town of Beit Jala on Friday (Mahmoud Illean/AP) The United Nations is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Palestinians are drinking contaminated water as diseases spread, while some Israeli leaders continue to talk openly about the mass relocation of people from Gaza. Another 11 malnutrition-related deaths occurred in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday, with one child among them. That brings malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 251. The UN and partners say getting aid into the territory of more than two million people, and then on to distribution points, remains highly challenging with Israeli restrictions and pressure from crowds of hungry Palestinians. The UN human rights office says at least 1,760 people were killed while seeking aid between May 27 and Wednesday. It says 766 were killed along routes of supply convoys and 994 in the vicinity of 'non-UN militarised sites', a reference to the Israeli-backed and US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which since May has been the primary distributor of aid in Gaza. The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 61,897 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
How Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 ago sowed the seeds of devastating conflict we see today
Israel's disengagement, which also included removing four settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was then-prime minister Ariel Sharon's controversial attempt to jump-start negotiations with the Palestinians. But it bitterly divided Israeli society and led to the empowerment of Hamas, with implications that reverberate today. The emotional images of Jews being ripped from their homes by Israeli soldiers galvanised Israel's far-right and settler movements. The anger helped them organise and increase their political influence, accounting in part for the rise of hard-line politicians like national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. On Thursday, Smotrich boasted of a settlement expansion plan east of Jerusalem that will 'bury' the idea of a future Palestinian state. For Palestinians, even if they welcomed the disengagement, it didn't end Israel's control over their lives. Soon after, Hamas won elections in 2006, then drove out the Palestinian Authority in a violent takeover. Israel and Egypt imposed a closure on the territory, controlling entry and exit of goods and people. Though its intensity varied over the years, the closure helped impoverish the population and entrenched a painful separation from Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians claim all three territories for a future independent state. Israel couldn't justify the military or economic cost of maintaining the heavily fortified settlements in Gaza, explained Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Misgav Institute and the Institute for National Security Studies think tanks. There were around 8,000 Israeli settlers and 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza in 2005. 'There was no chance for these settlements to exist or flourish or become meaningful enough to be a strategic anchor,' he said. By contrast, there are more than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, most living in developed settlement blocs that have generally received more support from Israeli society, Mr Michael said. Most of the world considers the settlements illegal under international law. Because Israel withdrew unilaterally, without any co-ordination with the Palestinian Authority, it enhanced Hamas's stature among Palestinians in Gaza. 'This contributed to Hamas's win in the elections in 2006, because they leveraged it and introduced it as a very significant achievement,' Mr Michael said. 'They saw it as an achievement of the resistance and a justification for the continuation of the armed resistance.' Footage of the violence between Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers also created an 'open wound' in Israeli society, Mr Michael said. 'I don't think any government will be able to do something like that in the future,' he said. That limits any flexibility over settlements in the West Bank if negotiations over a two-state solution with the Palestinians ever resume. Anita Tucker, now 79, was part of the first nine Jewish families that moved to the Gaza Strip in 1976. She and her husband and their three children lived in an Israeli army outpost near what is today Deir al-Balah, while the settlement of Netzer Hazoni was constructed. Originally from Brooklyn, she started a farm growing vegetables in the harsh, tall sand dunes. At first relations were good with their Palestinian neighbours, she said, and they worked hard to build their home and a 'beautiful community'. She had two more children, and three chose to stay and raise their families in Netzer Hazoni. She can still recall the moment, 20 years ago, when 1,000 Israeli soldiers arrived at the gate to the settlement to remove the approximately 400 residents. Some of her neighbours lit their houses on fire in protest. 'Obviously it was a mistake to leave. The lives of the Arabs became much worse, and the lives of the Jews became much, much worse, with rockets and October 7,' she said, referring to the decades of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel and the date in 2023 of the Hamas attack that launched the ongoing war. Despite the passage of time, her family still is 'yearning and longing for their home', she said. Several of her 10 grandchildren, including some who spent their early childhood in the Gaza settlements, have served in the current war and were near her old house. 'It's hard to believe, because of all the terrible things that happened that we predicted, but we're willing to build there again,' said Ms Tucker. After Israel's withdrawal 20 years ago, many Palestinians described Gaza as an 'open-air prison'. They had control on the inside – under a Hamas government that some supported but some saw as heavy-handed and brutal. But ultimately, Israel had a grip around the territory. Many Palestinians believe Sharon carried out the withdrawal so Israel could focus on cementing its control in the West Bank through settlement building. Now some believe more direct Israeli occupation is returning to Gaza. After 22 months of war, Israeli troops control more than 75pc of Gaza, and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks of maintaining security control long term after the war. Amjad Shawa, the director of the Palestinian NGO Network, said he doesn't believe Netanyahu will repeat Sharon's full withdrawal. Instead, he expects the military to continue controlling large swathes of Gaza through 'buffer zones'. The aim, he said, is to keep Gaza 'unlivable, to change the demographics', referring to Netanyahu's plans to encourage Palestinians to leave the territory. Israeli former Major General Dan Harel, who was head of the country's Southern Command during the disengagement, remembers the toll of protecting a few thousand settlers. There were an average of 10 attacks per day against Israeli settlers and soldiers, including rockets, roadside bombs big enough to destroy a tank, tunnels to attack Israeli soldiers and military positions, and frequent gunfire. 'Bringing a school bus of kids from one place to another required a military escort,' said Mr Harel. 'There wasn't a future. People paint it as how wonderful it was there, but it wasn't wonderful.' Mr Harel says the decision to evacuate Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip was the right one, but that Israel missed crucial opportunities. Most egregious, he said, was a unilateral withdrawal without obtaining any concessions from the Palestinians in Gaza or the Palestinian Authority. He also sharply criticised Israel's policy of containment toward Hamas after disengagement. There were short but destructive conflicts over the years between the two sides, but otherwise the policy gave Hamas 'an opportunity to do whatever they wanted'. 'We had such a blind spot with Hamas, we didn't see them morph from a terror organisation into an organised military, with battalions and commanders and infrastructure,' he said. The October 7 attack, Israel's largest military intelligence failure to date, was not a result of the disengagement, said Mr Harel. 'The main issue is what we did in the 18 years in between.'
