Belgian TV broadcaster interrupts Eurovision semi-final coverage with pro-Palestine message
Israel successfully made it through to Saturday's Eurovision grand final
Belgium's national public service broadcaster interrupted its coverage of Thursday night's Eurovision semi-final to display a message condemning "human rights violations" by Israel.
The channel, VRT, beamed the message to screens across Belgium at the very beginning of the show on a night where the Middle Eastern country qualified for Saturday's grand final.
This year's contest has been heavily marred by controversy surrounding Israel's inclusion in the Continent's musical centrepiece.
READ MORE: Greta Thunberg joins pro-Palestine protests at Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo
The message, which was shared widely on social media following its transmission by VRT, read: "This is a union action. We condemn the human rights violations of the Israeli state. Israel is also destroying the freedom of the press. That's why we temporarily interrupt the transmission. #CeaseFireNow #StopGenocideNow".
The broadcaster explained its decision to transmit the message nationally, saying: "We have been watching events in the Middle East with horror for months. We are convinced that the State of Israel is committing genocide and it is therefore scandalous that there is an Israeli candidate in the Eurovision Song Contest."
It continued: "Doing nothing, just watching, is no longer an option. The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) unfortunately made Israeli participation possible and we therefore decided to interrupt the broadcast. We hope to send a signal to the Israeli government to stop the fighting and killings, allow international observers and the press to enter (Gaza) and sit down for a negotiated solution."
Social media reaction to Israel's participation in Thursday's semi-final was largely negative, with users accusing the EBU of blocking out boos from the crowd. One user wrote: "Reminder that the Eurovision have anti-booing technology, turned off the audience mics for Israel's performance (and) have fake cheering audio for Israels performance."
The user claims that this video was real footage taken of Eden Golan's performance of Hurricane in the Malmo Arena:
Another user wrote: "If you hear cheers for israel during the broadcast it’s cause of the EBU is using anti-booing technique trying to cover up boos with fake cheers for tv."
Eurovision organisers said earlier today that they would not "censor" the audience following the boos heard ringing around the arena during Israel's dress rehearsal.
Organisers, along with Swedish broadcaster SVT, said in a statement: "Just like in all major TV productions with an audience, SVT work on the broadcast sound to even out the levels for TV viewers."
They continued: "This is solely to achieve as balanced a sound mix as possible for the audience; and SVT do not censor sound from the arena audience. The same principle applies to all competing performances and opening and interval acts.
"The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and SVT encourage all audiences to attend in the spirit of the contest, embracing its values of inclusivity, celebrating diversity and being United By Music."
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