Leitrim Eurovision winner weighs in on RTÉ boycott of competition if Israel competes

RTÉ announced last week that Ireland will not take part in the Eurovision next year if Israel is allowed to compete. Leitrim's Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan says he is in favour of the move and thinks it should have come earlier.

“I've been sort of campaigning for that to happen for about five years at this stage,” said McGettigan, who won the Eurovision in 1994 with Rock and Roll Kids, which he performed alongside Paul Harrington.

RTÉ has said that it would be “unconscionable” to take part in the competition given Israel's actions in Gaza, the loss of civilian life, and the targeted killing of journalists in the Strip.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is currently collecting views on Israel’s involvement before making a decision.

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“The Palestinians have been given a dreadful time during the years. It's just disastrous … Hamas are no angels either. I'm not supporting what Hamas do either,” said McGettigan.

Around 1,000 people were killed when Hamas paramilitaries attacked villages in southern Israel on October 7th, 2023, with hundreds of hostages taken back to Gaza.

As Israel's military offensive in Gaza nears its second anniversary next month, the death toll in the Strip is disputed; however, the Palestinian-run health ministry has said it is around 65,000, and about 160,000 more have been injured, the ministry claims.

“I think what Israel is doing is like taking a sledgehammer to open a hazelnut or something. It's just bonkers. So I've been sort of advocating that RTÉ should sort of say we're not going to take part if Israel is there.”

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Public broadcasters in Iceland, Slovenia, Spain, and the Netherlands have joined RTÉ in threatening to boycott the event if Israel is allowed to enter.

“It's very hard for an Irish act to stand on the same stage as somebody who represents the Israeli regime. When I say that, I'm not the least anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic in any way. I'm sure a lot of the population of Israel doesn't support this.”

“The Russians have been banned from it since they invaded Ukraine, and if you take per capita population, the number of people that have been killed in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, and compare that to the number of people who have been killed in just the last three years in Gaza, Gaza far outweighs it morally.”