Regev: If Eurovision is not in Jerusalem, it should not be in Israel
Culture Minister Miri Regev proclaimed on Thursday that if Israel can’t host the Eurovision in Jerusalem next year, it should not host it at all. Speaking to Kan’s Reshet Bet on Thursday morning, Regev said: “I will recommend to the government that Eurovision – if it can’t be in Jerusalem, we shouldn’t host it.”
The culture minister added: “It costs Israel NIS 50 million. It is designed to market the country. It’s a beautiful music show that brings every country here... I think personally that if the Eurovision won’t be in Jerusalem, it would be wrong to invest NIS 50m. of public funds. The State of Israel’s capital is Jerusalem and we should not be ashamed of it.”
The location of the singing event was called into doubt following the cancellation of the Argentina-Israel soccer match that was planned for Saturday night. Argentina’s Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said on Thursday that the match had been canceled because Regev had scheduled the game to be played in Jerusalem.
“The game, as you all know, was scheduled to take place in Haifa,” Faurie told reporters. The ruckus around the Jerusalem venue was a result of the sensitivity from the relocation of the US Embassy to the city last month. His office had therefore advised the Argentine Football Association not to hold the game there, he said, according to Channel 2.
On Thursday, the Kan public broadcaster – which is slated to host the Eurovision contest – would not comment on Regev’s statement, nor would it confirm the report that it had been asked to host the competition outside of Jerusalem.
The EBU told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that no decision has been made on the host city, and that it is important that the contest continue to be a non-political event.
“No decisions have been made yet on the host city, venue and dates,” an EBU spokesman said. It noted that each year it requires the host broadcaster to present “a minimum of two host city and venue options” before the final decision is made. An EBU official added
that it will be meeting again with Kan officials in Geneva later this month, and that for the past five years the host city has been announced “no earlier than July and no later than September.”
An EBU representative also noted that the contest is “a long-running, non-political entertainment event” and that it insists that every host broadcaster “takes all necessary steps to safeguard the non-political character of the event throughout the organization of the competition.”
Communications Minister Ayoub Kara said on Thursday that there is no question that the Eurovision will be held in Israel.
“I want to make it clear here, the same way I made it clear to [host broadcaster] Kan, that the government – and myself personally – do not have any political designs on the competition,” Kara said in a video message he posted on social media. In sharp contrast to Regev, Kara said he intends to fully cooperate with and meet the demands of the European Broadcasting Union. “The Eurovision will be held in Israel. I will not let any official harm the manner in which the Eurovision is determined.”
Since Israel’s win at the Eurovision earlier this year, Kara and Regev have sparred over responsibilities and budget for next year’s contest. Kara did not mention Regev by name in his statement, but his message was a clear counter to the culture minister’s more fiery rhetoric.
ON WEDNESDAY, Regev said that the soccer match had been canceled because of threats made against the team’s start player Lionel Messi and his family.
Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia similarly told reporters: “The actions, the threats that have taken place have led us to decide not to travel.”
But Palestinian Football Association head Jabril Rajoub, who had inflamed emotions around the game by calling on people to burn Messi’s shirt and picture, also said the issue was Jerusalem.
He had also written to the Argentine Football Association asking that it cancel the game due to its location.
Separately, the Hebrew website Ynet reported that Qatar had offered the Argentine Football Association money to cancel the game.
Israel Ambassador to the UNESCO Carmel Shama-HaCohen said the report was not true. Upon hearing it, he had planned to ask UNESCO to condemn Qatar’s involvement in the matter. But before doing so, he had asked a number of sources with ties to Qatar to check out the matter. One of them showed him a WhatsApp conversation with Qatar’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thanithat, that stated: “I have no idea at all, I swear.”
The foreign minister also wrote: “We did not even interfere.” •