Dublin mayor calls for Irish boycott of 2019 Eurovision in Israel

Micheal Mac Donncha, a long-time vocal supporter of boycotting the Jewish state, says his country should show solidarity with Palestinians

Dublin Mayor Micheal Mac Donncha speaks in a conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, April 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Dublin Mayor Micheal Mac Donncha speaks in a conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, April 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Dublin’s mayor on Monday called for Ireland to boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which is to be held in Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Micheal Mac Donncha told Dublin Live news site that he would support a boycott of the Israeli-hosted event. “I would support that, I don’t think we should send a representative,” he said.

He reiterated his position to Dublin Live.

“I think the horrific ordeal of the Palestinian people needs to be highlighted,” he said. “There needs to be solidarity, just as there was with the people of South Africa with the apartheid regime.”

Donncha added, “The Irish-Palestine solidarity campaign has collected the names of 500 artists who have said they would not work in the State of Israel, that they would boycott it in the protest of the treatment of the Palestinian people.”

Israel’s Netta Barzilai celebrates, after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal, May 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in two decades on Saturday, as Netta Barzilai clucked and bucked her way to the top of the international competition with the women’s empowerment anthem “Toy.”

Barzilai’s win means Israel will host next year’s Eurovision competition — probably in Jerusalem — an event expected to bring thousands of fans and worldwide exposure to the Jewish state.

Last month, Israeli authorities tried to bar Donncha from entering the country after his city council passed two anti-Israel resolutions, but botched the effort, apparently because they had spelled his name wrong.

The council passed two resolutions endorsing the anti-Israel boycott movement and calling on the national government to expel the Israeli ambassador to the country.

Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.

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