Zach LarkinsFOOTPRINT OF THE LEFT
Republicans or Conservatives are in a minority situation. At least, they are over in Europe. In Europe, there is a TV show called "The Eurovision Song Contest", on the air for more than 50 years, and watched by as many as 600 million people worldwide. Call it a kind of "European Idol" where each contestant represents a different country. Now, Israel is hardly in Europe but it has been represented in this contest for years. This year is different.
You see, the organizers are threatening to throw Israel out of the competition, claiming its entry is too overtly political and that its "inappropriate" message risked "bringing the contest into disrepute." The whole controversy is over a song called "Push The Button", a protest against the dangers of nuclear war. By even considering disqualifying Israel shows just how far to the left organizers of Eurovision have swung, and even more how uncomfortable Europeans are with the idea of Israelis as victims.
The song's lyrics might be a bit jarring in a competition usually known for the blandness of its entries. A sample: "The world is full of terror, if someone makes an error, he's gonna blow us up to kingdom come? There are some crazy rulers, they hide and try to fool us, with demonic, technologic willingness to harm. They're gonna push the button, push the button ? I don't wanna die, I wanna see the flowers bloom, don't wanna go kaput-kaboom." The band, Teapacks, one of Israel's most popular and original groups, says the song is about "humanity," and "could be about the violence on the streets of England." But it's been interpreted as referring to either Iran's threats to "wipe Israel off the map" with nuclear technology or to the Palestinian Kassam rockets which fall on the Israeli town of Sderot, home to the band's lead singer, Kobi Oz. So what if it does? Didn't we have politically charged songs here during the Viet Nam war? "Universal Soldier", "Eve Of Destruction", "Blowin' In The Wind" spring to mind.
The song is apparently too hard for delicate European ears to hear. Organizers are citing Eurovision guidelines, which do not allow songs with political messages. However, these guidelines have been ignored in the past. Just two years ago, Greenjolly represented the Ukraine with the anthem of the Orange Revolution and in 1982, a Finnish band entered with a song against the neutron bomb and was allowed to compete. In 2000, the Israeli entrants themselves waved the Syrian flag during a rehearsal to promote an Israeli-Syrian peace deal. (This was too much for the Israel Broadcasting Authority, which censured the group, Ping Pong, but the Eurovision organizers didn't seem to care. They allowed the band to make the same gesture on- stage during the live competition.) So why is it so different today?
It's probably not the inclusion of a political message. More likely it's this particular political message the organizers find objectionable. Europeans today are pronuclear war, but when it comes to the one country which could conceivably start one (Iran) they are simply apathetic. Despite the threat that a nuclear Iran could pose to their own cities, they have allow negotiations to drag out, stalling on imposing sanctions and letting Iran come close to the nuclear "point of no-return." On a continent where the Muslim population is growing and leaders are caught up dealing with internal economic and social upheaval, it is easy to live in denial. Push The Button is an uncomfortable and unwelcome reminder of what's at stake and although the song is deliberately vague about which conflict it is talking about, almost everyone who hears it assumes it is about Israelis as victims and Muslims, either Iranian or Palestinian, as aggressors.
Europeans don't want to see it that way. Indeed, they rarely think about Israeli suffering and go to great lengths to explain away Iranian and Palestinian violence and threats. Apparently being forced to see the situation the other way round is distasteful and "inappropriate." Kobi Oz told the UK's Independent newspaper, "Real art provokes responses and provokes people into arguing." And that is what the Eurovision organizers are scared of.
Sources: Miriam Shaviv The Song The National Post
You see, the organizers are threatening to throw Israel out of the competition, claiming its entry is too overtly political and that its "inappropriate" message risked "bringing the contest into disrepute." The whole controversy is over a song called "Push The Button", a protest against the dangers of nuclear war. By even considering disqualifying Israel shows just how far to the left organizers of Eurovision have swung, and even more how uncomfortable Europeans are with the idea of Israelis as victims.
The song's lyrics might be a bit jarring in a competition usually known for the blandness of its entries. A sample: "The world is full of terror, if someone makes an error, he's gonna blow us up to kingdom come? There are some crazy rulers, they hide and try to fool us, with demonic, technologic willingness to harm. They're gonna push the button, push the button ? I don't wanna die, I wanna see the flowers bloom, don't wanna go kaput-kaboom." The band, Teapacks, one of Israel's most popular and original groups, says the song is about "humanity," and "could be about the violence on the streets of England." But it's been interpreted as referring to either Iran's threats to "wipe Israel off the map" with nuclear technology or to the Palestinian Kassam rockets which fall on the Israeli town of Sderot, home to the band's lead singer, Kobi Oz. So what if it does? Didn't we have politically charged songs here during the Viet Nam war? "Universal Soldier", "Eve Of Destruction", "Blowin' In The Wind" spring to mind.
The song is apparently too hard for delicate European ears to hear. Organizers are citing Eurovision guidelines, which do not allow songs with political messages. However, these guidelines have been ignored in the past. Just two years ago, Greenjolly represented the Ukraine with the anthem of the Orange Revolution and in 1982, a Finnish band entered with a song against the neutron bomb and was allowed to compete. In 2000, the Israeli entrants themselves waved the Syrian flag during a rehearsal to promote an Israeli-Syrian peace deal. (This was too much for the Israel Broadcasting Authority, which censured the group, Ping Pong, but the Eurovision organizers didn't seem to care. They allowed the band to make the same gesture on- stage during the live competition.) So why is it so different today?
It's probably not the inclusion of a political message. More likely it's this particular political message the organizers find objectionable. Europeans today are pronuclear war, but when it comes to the one country which could conceivably start one (Iran) they are simply apathetic. Despite the threat that a nuclear Iran could pose to their own cities, they have allow negotiations to drag out, stalling on imposing sanctions and letting Iran come close to the nuclear "point of no-return." On a continent where the Muslim population is growing and leaders are caught up dealing with internal economic and social upheaval, it is easy to live in denial. Push The Button is an uncomfortable and unwelcome reminder of what's at stake and although the song is deliberately vague about which conflict it is talking about, almost everyone who hears it assumes it is about Israelis as victims and Muslims, either Iranian or Palestinian, as aggressors.
Europeans don't want to see it that way. Indeed, they rarely think about Israeli suffering and go to great lengths to explain away Iranian and Palestinian violence and threats. Apparently being forced to see the situation the other way round is distasteful and "inappropriate." Kobi Oz told the UK's Independent newspaper, "Real art provokes responses and provokes people into arguing." And that is what the Eurovision organizers are scared of.
Sources: Miriam Shaviv The Song The National Post
