Dublin mayor: Ireland should boycott next year’s event in J’lem
Irish Eurovision contestant visited Israel last month – and the country gave Netta 13 points
The mayor of Dublin called on Sunday for Ireland to not take part in the Eurovision 2019 competition since it will be held in Jerusalem.
Lord Mayor Micheal Mac Donncha told Dublin Live earlier this week that he would be in favor of boycotting the contest: “I don’t think we should send a representative... I think the horrific ordeal of the Palestinian people needs to be highlighted,” he said.
Last month, Mac Donncha was banned from visiting Israel by the Interior Ministry due to his support for the boycott movement. But officials misspelled his name, and the mayor entered through Tel Aviv and traveled to Ramallah.
Mac Donncha’s proposal was echoed by several Irish European Parliament lawmakers.
But earlier this year, the Irish contestant at this year’s Eurovision, Ryan O’Shaughnessy, enjoyed a four-day trip to Israel as part of the pre-Eurovision Israel Calling Event. During his visit, O’Shaughnessy posted a photo of himself aboard a camel and called the chance to perform for 10,000 Israeli fans “amazing.”
At the Eurovision singing contest on Saturday night, the Irish jury awarded Israel’s Netta Barzilai seven points, while the country’s televoters gave her six.
Nevertheless, two European Parliament lawmakers from Ireland expressed support for boycotting Israel next year.
Lynn Boylan of Ireland’s far-left Sinn Féin party wrote on Twitter: “Israel wins Eurovision so let’s make BDS more successful than ever in 2019,” adding an image of a clenched fist.
Nessa Childers, another Irish lawmaker for the Party of European Socialists, retweeted Boylan’s message, adding the word: “This!” She later wrote: “Jerusalem? The mind boggles. I thought Tel Aviv.”
Emmett O’Brien, a lawmaker from Ireland’s Limerick County, criticized the European Parliament lawmakers on Twitter for politicizing the cultural event. “So much pathetic hate against Israel,” he wrote, asking them to condemn Hamas. Others accused Boylan of supporting antisemitism, which she denied.