Dear sir/ma'am,

In 2022, following the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, pressure was applied to the Eurovision Song Contest to bar Russia from competing that year and all years since. It was widely rightfully agreed that the invasion was worthy of strong condemnation and that Russia should be given no avenues to rehabilitate its public image.

In October 2023, the state of Israel began a military campaign against the people of the already occupied Gaza Strip in Palestine. In a disproportionate, atrocious response to the Hamas attack on the 7th of October 2023, Israeli forces have murdered over 30,000 Palestinians and displaced almost 2 million from their homes. Palestinian civilians (journalists and doctors included), entirely unaffiliated with the Hamas party Israel claims to target, have been targeted and killed indiscriminately. Stripped of basic necessities like food, water and electricity by Israel, with intent vocalised by multiple Israeli forces to eliminate Gaza and the Palestinian people, this is no less than a genocide.

Thus Israel, much like Russia, should not be permitted to compete in a contest that has been used repeatedly to maintain its pristine public image while it brutally oppresses Palestine. Especially when it has been charged with genocide explicitly by South Africa, a case that took place in the ICJ, thoroughly elucidating the crimes committed by the Israeli state, a charge agreed upon by several countries and genocide scholars alike.

The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement has called for a complete boycott of Eurovision by broadcasters, artists and viewers and I ask that the BBC comply with this - abstain from broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest and withdraw this years entry to the contest.

Thank you.