Should Israel not compete in the European Song Contest?

No Philippa facts do not matter to some posters.
Nor indeed to many of the protestors.
I’ve seen some of them interviewed, they are unbelievably ignorant of the the history.
Some hadn’t even heard about 07/10 (I’m sure all Gransnetters know about that) and yet they were demonstrating.

Glorianny

Philippa60

Jaberwok, 100% accurate.

Israel has NO desire to harm innocent civilians.
On the contrary, Israel puts its soldiers at risk, and many have been killed, trying to avoid civilian harm to Palestinians.

All the people who criticize Israel (along the lines of "how many Palestinians need to be killed... etc.") miss the point completely. Israel is trying to ensure that Hamas cannot carry out another October 7th massacre, as they have promised to do. That's it.

There is no aim to take over Gaza (a few crazies on the far right may have said things about that, but they are irrelevant and do not represent the mainstream Israeli people nor the government. Much as I dislike Netanyahu and want him gone, he is in charge and he is not saying this).

A lot of Palestinians are getting harmed because their leaders (Hamas) deliberately put them in harm's way. If only they had used the huge amounts of money given to them by international bodies to build up Gaza, rather than attack Israel all the time, we'd be in a totally different place today.
Gaza could be another Singapore!
But no, they've chosen to be a terror state.

I despair, honestly.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to become "another Singapore" when you have no access to the sea, no port, no means of exit or entrance without strict supervision and limitation on access. Not to mention no power facilities or water provision.
Unemployment in Gaza has always been around 50% because the country is unable to maintain any sort of a viable economy. It is largely dependent on aid to feed its people.
Agriculture and Industry are limited by the access to water and power.
Another Singapore- that's a joke!

Glorianny, no access to the sea? Are you sure about that?
Have you seen what Gaza looked like before October 7th?
No power and water?
This is simply not true.
Or do the facts not matter in your narrative?

Jaberwok Philippa60 and Maddyone 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I agree with all you say and I bet most people do.

Gaza is not Hamas
The Palestinian people are not Hamas.

Philippa60

Jaberwok, 100% accurate.

Israel has NO desire to harm innocent civilians.
On the contrary, Israel puts its soldiers at risk, and many have been killed, trying to avoid civilian harm to Palestinians.

All the people who criticize Israel (along the lines of "how many Palestinians need to be killed... etc.") miss the point completely. Israel is trying to ensure that Hamas cannot carry out another October 7th massacre, as they have promised to do. That's it.

There is no aim to take over Gaza (a few crazies on the far right may have said things about that, but they are irrelevant and do not represent the mainstream Israeli people nor the government. Much as I dislike Netanyahu and want him gone, he is in charge and he is not saying this).

A lot of Palestinians are getting harmed because their leaders (Hamas) deliberately put them in harm's way. If only they had used the huge amounts of money given to them by international bodies to build up Gaza, rather than attack Israel all the time, we'd be in a totally different place today.
Gaza could be another Singapore!
But no, they've chosen to be a terror state.

I despair, honestly.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to become "another Singapore" when you have no access to the sea, no port, no means of exit or entrance without strict supervision and limitation on access. Not to mention no power facilities or water provision.
Unemployment in Gaza has always been around 50% because the country is unable to maintain any sort of a viable economy. It is largely dependent on aid to feed its people.
Agriculture and Industry are limited by the access to water and power.
Another Singapore- that's a joke!

Philippa thank you for coming back. It must be very difficult for our Jewish members to try to get some balance into the discussion. But I’ll say it again, the silent majority
ensured that the Israeli entry was not pushed into bottom place as the cowardly juries tried hard to do. Shame on them for their politicised voting.

Definitely truth Phillipa

Phillipa60 👏👏👏

Jaberwok, 100% accurate.

Israel has NO desire to harm innocent civilians.
On the contrary, Israel puts its soldiers at risk, and many have been killed, trying to avoid civilian harm to Palestinians.

All the people who criticize Israel (along the lines of "how many Palestinians need to be killed... etc.") miss the point completely. Israel is trying to ensure that Hamas cannot carry out another October 7th massacre, as they have promised to do. That's it.

There is no aim to take over Gaza (a few crazies on the far right may have said things about that, but they are irrelevant and do not represent the mainstream Israeli people nor the government. Much as I dislike Netanyahu and want him gone, he is in charge and he is not saying this).

A lot of Palestinians are getting harmed because their leaders (Hamas) deliberately put them in harm's way. If only they had used the huge amounts of money given to them by international bodies to build up Gaza, rather than attack Israel all the time, we'd be in a totally different place today.
Gaza could be another Singapore!
But no, they've chosen to be a terror state.

I despair, honestly.

In all the conversations on here and in other places very little, amounting to almost nothing is said about the hostages! Now, they are probably all dead, or at least most are, we know the two little boys, one less than a year old, the other only three (?) and their mother are dead, apparently Hamas have confirmed this. Also the fact that Hamas send, on a daily basis, rockets into Israel, presumably to terrorise the population. Yes I know Israel is well protected, and does provide adequate air raid shelters and other necessities for the protection of its population. Hamas on the other hand does not even provide the most basic protection, instead it actually uses its own people as human shields! How appalling is that? And yet people seem ok with that, painting Israel as the monster, when let's face it, who began all this? who won't free the innocent hostages, who doesn't provide even basic protection and facilities for their own population to the point of stealing aid? The list is endless. Who's the monster here?

Galaxy

It seems that in Europe the general public perfectly understand the need to fight a brutal terrorist regime that is against all western values.

As Maddyone says the silent majority!
As against the noisy few.

I especially don’t care what he said 2010.
Since then 07/10 has happened.
According to the Guardian today, David Cameron has said (and not in 2010) that Britain must not stop arming Israel.

I don’t care what David Cameron said. I don’t think he should be in government at all after he scuttled off after the referendum.

From The Independent last year
‘New foreign secretary David Cameron has previously called Gaza “a prison camp” and has criticised Israel’s ”illegal” settlements in Palestinian territory.

On a visit to Turkey in 2010 the former Conservative prime minister said: “Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp’.

Yes Galaxy, you’re right. As I said the silent majority.

It seems that in Europe the general public perfectly understand the need to fight a brutal terrorist regime that is against all western values.

And will Israel destroying Gaza and its people prevent that?

fancythat

^And will killing thousands of Palestinians really put an end to Hamas?^

I think that is an interesting question.

Sometimes, I think enough key people have died, that it does?
Other times, it rises again some years later?

I dont know enough history to know how this type of thing normally works.

Hamas has tentacles world wide, even in the UK, Muhammad Qassem Sawalha, terror chief, living in a council house in a Jewish area of London thanks to our lily livered Government's.

So yes they will rise up again. Their sole aim to destroy Israel.

Oreo

Well, in spite of all the noisy pro Palestinian protests it seems that most countries were fair in their point giving and heartening to see Israel come in 5th place.Well done to Eden.

Yes, she did really well.
And whilst the juries wouldn’t vote for her, the public came through and voted for her. The British public gave her a high score. The silent majority.

vegansrock

Those saying that no one votes for the UK forget that Sam Ryder came 2nd last year with a half way decent song, he would have come 1st but for the Ukraine sympathy vote. Our song this year was rubbish and the choreography was even worse -that’s why no one voted for it.

I think the song was ok but the choreography was offputting.

Anyway, at least people in his home town supported him. Well done.

Yes, Sam would have won but for the sympathy vote.

Yes that's spot on vegansrock.

Well, in spite of all the noisy pro Palestinian protests it seems that most countries were fair in their point giving and heartening to see Israel come in 5th place.Well done to Eden.

fancythat

^And will killing thousands of Palestinians really put an end to Hamas?^

I think that is an interesting question.

Sometimes, I think enough key people have died, that it does?
Other times, it rises again some years later?

I dont know enough history to know how this type of thing normally works.

You can't kill ideas fancythat
We spent years in Ireland eradicating their Irish heritage. Their language was banned, their history was sidelined, we colonised the place, we killed thousands and thousands more fled. Then just when it looked as if there was only political debate left a group of Irish intellectuals started resurrecting the culture and plotting rebellion. And violence broke out again.
Ideas survive and are passed down. Only compromise and discussion can prevent bloodshed, oppression certainly doesn't.

Those saying that no one votes for the UK forget that Sam Ryder came 2nd last year with a half way decent song, he would have come 1st but for the Ukraine sympathy vote. Our song this year was rubbish and the choreography was even worse -that’s why no one voted for it.

And will killing thousands of Palestinians really put an end to Hamas?

I think that is an interesting question.

Sometimes, I think enough key people have died, that it does?
Other times, it rises again some years later?

I dont know enough history to know how this type of thing normally works.