Roger Waters, Macklemore among hundreds of artists calling for Eurovision boycott over Israel’s participation

As they have annually for many years, a group of hundreds of musical artists sign on to a call to boycott the upcoming Eurovision in Vienna over Israel’s slated participation.

This year’s list is organized by the “No Music for Genocide” initiative, which also calls on anti-Israel artists to have their music geo-blocked inside Israel.

“We reject Eurovision being used to whitewash and normalise Israel’s genocide, siege and brutal military occupation against Palestinians,” the letter reads. ” We stand in solidarity with Palestinian calls for public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew, and fans to boycott Eurovision until the EBU bans complicit Israeli broadcaster KAN.”

The organizers say the letter has been signed by more than 1,100 culture figures, although most are unknown names. The signatories contain few surprises and include known anti-Israel activists Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Macklemore, Massive Attack, and Kneecap — which was investigated over its public support for the Hezbollah terror group. Other signatories include musicians Paloma Faith, Peter Gabriel, Nadine Shah, and Primal Scream.

Last week, a letter backing Israel’s participation in the Eurovision was released by the Creative Community for Peace organization, with signatures including Gene Simmons, Scooter Braun, Boy George, and Sharon Osbourne.

Israel was cleared to participate in the competition next month following a vote that was backed by an overwhelming majority of European Broadcasting Union members. Following the vote, the broadcasters from Spain, Iceland, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Ireland pulled out of the contest in protest.