ACOD-VRT Placard Controversy at Eurovision Song Contest Sparks Debate on Israel’s Human Rights Violations

The seventh day opened Sunday morning with a chapter on the tumultuous 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. In that context, the presenters Lieven Verstraete and Lisbeth Imbo also made a video link to Israel, to talk to the concert organizer Marilyn Ambach, the daughter of ‘Boogie Boy’ Paul Ambach who exchanged Antwerp for Israel almost twenty a year ago.

During Ambach’s first response, the now infamous ACOD-VRT placard reappeared. He says: “This is business action – we condemn human rights violations by the State of Israel. In addition, the State of Israel is destroying the freedom of the press. That’s why we pause the image for a moment. #CeasefireNow #StopGenocide”.

According to VRT, this time the display of the banner was not a statement by the union. The intention was to show the placard as a picture when the action was discussed in the interview, but the timing was bad. “The placard was shown at the wrong time. That may have been confusing, but it wasn’t on purpose. It was tidying up, so there was no business function,” said VRT.

Ambach explained The seventh day that she finds all complaints against Israel “false, wrong and sad”. According to her, the media reports one-sidedly about the war in Gaza, and the image in the media does not match the reality on the ground.

The support was also previously shown at the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday and at the start of the final on Saturday night. The image of the banner went viral through social media, and the foreign media picked up the news eagerly and could count on a lot of support, but also criticism. The Forum of Jewish Organizations called the action “unbelievable” because, according to the Forum, the text “stands out for being completely one-sided”.