Rishi Sunak condemns Eurovision anti-Israel protests as ‘mistaken’ and ‘outrageous’

Rishi Sunak has condemned protests against Israel taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest as “wrong” and “outrageous”.

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said Mr Sunak shares the “deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza” and said he is “incredibly mindful” of the feelings of Israelis and Jewish people seeing the protests while Hamas still holds hostages in Gaza.

But there have been worldwide protests against Israel’s military campaign, in which more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been reported killed. An estimated crowd of 10,000 to 12,000 protesters – including climate activist Greta Thunberg – marched through Malmo, Sweden, where Eurovision is being hosted, on Thursday. The Swedish Police Authority said they were “very peaceful”. There have also been calls for artists to boycott the contest.

Asked about the protests, the spokeswoman said: “The prime minister thinks that these protests are wrong and some of the scenes we’ve seen have been outrageous. Just as we share the deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and we raise this regularly, when it comes to this debate around Eurovision and these protests, we are incredibly mindful of the Israelis and also Jewish people around the world who love Eurovision and their feelings at seeing this in the aftermath of what was an atrocious terror attack, and while hostages are still being held by Hamas, and he would urge people to consider this when repeating these unfair calls for a boycott.”

The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to move forward with a widescale operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where some 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering. It has caused alarm around the world, with US President Joe Biden warning he will halt some arms supplies to Israel if it invades Rafah.

Asked if the PM thinks it’s wrong to protest against the actions of the Israeli government, he said: “He thinks that it is wrong and unfair to boycott or call for a boycott of their act. As you know we remain steadfast in our support for Israel in its right to self-defence and it’s right to prevent a terror attack such as we saw from ever happening again. At the same time, we continue to urge further action on aid in response to a growing humanitarian crisis.”

She added: “There is always the right for peaceful protest. That’s part of democracy here and around the world. But in terms of the Prime Minister’s opinion, these scenes, and whether it’s right to call for a boycott of their act, no, he thinks that’s wrong.”

Israel’s contestant Eden Golan, 20, whose emotional song Hurricane was reworked from a previous track called October Rain, which was thought to reference the Hamas attacks on Israel, made it through the semi-final on Thursday evening in Malmo Arena. She was congratulated by Mr Netanyahu, who said he was “proud” of the young star, who will perform in the final on Saturday.

The UK’s contestant Olly Alexander, who will also perform, has faced pressure to boycott the competition. In a BBC documentary on his journey to Eurovision, he said: “A lot of the contestants and myself have been having a lot of comments that are like, ‘You are complicit in a genocide by taking part in Eurovision’, which is quite extreme. It’s very extreme.

“I understand where that sentiment is coming from but I think it’s not correct. It’s an incredibly complicated political situation, one that I’m not qualified to speak on. The backdrop to this is actual immense suffering. It’s a humanitarian crisis, a war. It just so happens there’s a song contest going on at the same time that I’m a part of.”