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UK’s Eurovision Contestant Refuses to Boycott Song Contest Over Israel’s Involvement, Supports ‘Unifying Power of Music’
Olly Alexander in the music video for “Sweet Talker.” Photo: YouTube screenshot
Pop singer Olly Alexander, the United Kingdom’s representative in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, responded on Friday to an open letter signed by more than 450 members of the LGBTQ+ community asking him to boycott the international music competition because of Israel’s participation in the event.
Alexander — who joined others late last year in falsely accusing Israel of genocide and apartheid — said in a statement shared on social media that he wants to use his participation in the Eurovision contest to advocate for peace in the Middle East.
“I know some people will choose to boycott this year’s Eurovision and I understand and respect their decision,” he began by saying. “It is my current belief that removing myself from the contest wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal. Instead, I’ve been speaking with some of the other EV contestants and we’ve decided that by taking part we can use our platform to come together and call for peace.”
“I hope and pray that our calls are answered and there is an end to the atrocities we are seeing taking place in Gaza,” he added. The singer also reiterated his support for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and called for the return of all hostages taken by Hamas from Israel during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in the Jewish state, as well as “the safety and security of all civilians in Palestine and Israel.”
Queers for Palestine published an open letter on Thursday urging Alexander to pull out of Eurovision in solidarity with the Palestinians. “There can be no party with a state committing apartheid and genocide,” the group said. “At a time when accountability is so urgently needed, Israel’s inclusion in Eurovision would enable and cover up its war crimes and crimes against humanity.” The letter’s signatories included actors, writers, musicians, novelists, and playwrights.
Alexander also shared on Friday a joint statement from him and other Eurovision contestants this year who are choosing to remain in the competition, despite being against Israel’s actions during its ongoing defensive war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“We firmly believe in the unifying power of music, enabling people to transcend differences and foster meaningful conversations and connections,” they said. “We feel that it is our duty to create and uphold this space, with a strong hope that it will inspire greater compassion and empathy.” The joint statement was signed by Eurovision contestants Bambie Thug from Ireland, Gåte from Norway, iolanda from Portugal, Megara from San Marino, Nemo from Switzerland, SABA from Denmark, Silvester Belt from Lithuania, and Windows95Man from Finland.
Musicians in Iceland pushed to have Israel banned from the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest before the competition began because of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, rejected their demands. Eurovision Party London, the English capital city’s biggest Eurovision screening party, also announced last week that it was cancelling its screening event for this year’s Eurovision because of Israel’s involvement in the competition.
The finals for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest will take place on May 11 in Malmö, Sweden. Israel’s contestant in the competition, Eden Golan, is competing with a song renamed Hurricane. The track’s original lyrics and song title, October Rain, was initially disqualified by the EBU for being too political since the original song referenced the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.
An official in Israel has encouraged Israelis planning to attend this year’s Eurovision contest in Sweden to hide their Zionism or Israeli identity and not draw attention to themselves to avoid having security issues in Malto. The official described Malto as “an unfriendly area for Israelis.”
In last year’s Eurovision competition, contestant Noa Kirel from Israel came in third place.
The post UK’s Eurovision Contestant Refuses to Boycott Song Contest Over Israel’s Involvement, Supports ‘Unifying Power of Music’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday
US President Donald Trump attends the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump’s order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States goes into effect at 12:01 am ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, a move the president promulgated to protect the country from “foreign terrorists.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.
He cited last Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban.
The travel ban forms part of Trump’s policy to restrict immigration into the United States and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief.
Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump’s action.
“Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the U.S. a luxury airplane for Trump’s use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S.
Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban.
Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies.
“Trump’s travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,” said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. “People have a right to seek asylum.”
The post Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in southern Syria’s Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in the country in nearly a month.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the strike.
Israel said on Tuesday it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel for the first time under the country’s new leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa accountable.
Damascus in response said reports of the shelling were unverified, reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party.
A little known group named “Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024, reportedly claimed responsibility for the shelling. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the claim.
The post Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza-Bound Yacht Carrying Greta Thunberg
FILE PHOTO: Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen, which left the Italian port of Catania on June 1 to travel to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, in this picture released on June 2, 2025 on social media. Photo: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the military on Sunday to stop a charity boat carrying activists including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg who are planning to defy an Israeli blockade and reach Gaza.
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly towards the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
“I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen .. does not reach Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends, I say clearly: You’d better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.”
Climate activist Thunberg said she joined the Madleen crew to “challenge Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza and highlight the urgent need for humanitarian aid. She has rejected previous Israeli accusations of antisemitism.
Israel went to war with Hamas in October 2023 after the Islamist terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing more 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to the enclave.
Katz said the blockade was essential to Israel’s national security as it seeks to eliminate Hamas.
“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,” he said.
The Madleen is carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the FFC has said.
FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said on Sunday the boat was currently some 160 nautical miles (296 km) from Gaza. “We are preparing for the possibility of interception,” she said.
Besides Thunberg, there are 11 other crew members aboard, including Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
Israeli media have reported that the military plans to intercept the yacht before it reaches Gaza and escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The crew would then be deported.
In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was leading a small flotilla towards Gaza.
The post Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza-Bound Yacht Carrying Greta Thunberg first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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