Antisemitism activists and the British Conservative Party have called on the BBC to drop the UK's entrant for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in light of his endorsement of a letter accusing Israel of apartheid and genocide.
Olly Alexander, who was announced as the UK entrant last week, was one of 1,400 people and organizations to sign a statement by Voices4 London "standing in solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement."
The letter, which came out less than two weeks after the October 7 massacre, accused Israel of committing "unspeakable crimes against humanity" in the war against Hamas and of being an apartheid regime since its founding 75 years ago.
"Current events simply are an escalation of the state of Israel’s apartheid regime, which acts to ethnically cleanse the land. Since the violent creation of the state 75 years ago, the Israeli military and Israeli settlers have continued to terrorize Palestinian people," reads the letter endorsed by Alexander.
The letter does not reference the October 7 massacre or any Palestinian terrorism. It does include a brief mention of the hostages being held in Gaza, but does not mention Hamas.
The letter also accuses Israel of "pinkwashing" and implies that the criminalization of homosexuality in the Palestinian territories has its source in Western colonialism.
"Queer and trans-Palestinians have long highlighted that pinkwashing plays a significant role in Zionist propaganda – in the presentation of Israel as a ‘civilized democratic bastion of LGBTQIA+ rights’, in direct contrast with ‘barbaric, repressive, and intolerant’ Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities," read the letter, calling this "a colonial logic that uses racist and Islamophobic narratives to justify Western and white supremacist colonization."
Homosexuality is criminalized in the Palestinian territories, and LGBTQ+ Palestinians are often the targets of violent hate crimes. Several LGBTQ+ organizations in Israel have special initiatives that help LGBTQ+ Palestinians escape the Palestinian territories.
The letter also insisted that being anti-Zionist in no way promotes antisemitism and that the signees of the letter stand against any harassment and discrimination against Jewish communities. Those who equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism are accused by Voice4 London of "unthinking philosemitism," with the letter adding that this "is simply the other face of antisemitism."
Philosemitism is a term referring to "a particular appreciation for the Jewish people based on 'positive' characteristics of Jews," according to the Anti-Defamation League. While philosemitism can be used in a benign and positive way, it may also be used to embrace or justify acceptance of Jewish stereotypes and antisemitic tropes.
The term first arose in Germany to refer derogatorily to opponents of antisemitism, similar to the term "Jew-lover."
Campaign Against Antisemitism derides 'extreme rhetoric'
The Campaign Against Antisemitism expressed outrage at Alexander's endorsement of the letter telling the Telegraph, "The rhetoric in this letter, which is seemingly endorsed by Olly Alexander, is extreme. It is appalling in particular that it condemns ‘unthinking philosemitism’."
“At a time when nearly seven in ten British Jews feel afraid to express their identity in public, this must not be the person to represent our country at the Eurovision Song Contest. The BBC can and must right this wrong.”
The Israeli Embassy in London responded to Alexander's endorsement of the letter as well, writing on X "Clearly [Olly Alexander] graduated from the Middle Eastern School of TikTok."
Clearly @alexander_olly graduated from the Middle Eastern School of TikTok. We would be happy to arrange a trip for you to visit the #October7thMassacre sites in Israel, where the rights of LGBTQ+ are celebrated, protected and cherished. Unfortunately, our neighbours can’t…
— Israel in the UK (@IsraelinUK) December 21, 2023
"We would be happy to arrange a trip for you to visit the #October7thMassacre sites in Israel, where the rights of LGBTQ+ are celebrated, protected and cherished. Unfortunately, our neighbors can’t guarantee the same," added the embassy.
“Few things are more absurd than the queer community standing with a radical Islamist society in its obsession to destroy the only country in the Middle East where queer people can simply be themselves," said an Israeli official to the Telegraph.
“It warrants serious research to figure out where it is coming from, if not from pure antisemitism. As for genocide – it is defined as ‘acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group’. It is clear to any unbiased person that the only genocide in this country took place on October 7, and the victims were Israelis.”
A source in the Conservative Party told the Telegraph that "Letting an openly anti-Israel singer compete on the same stage as Israel is either a massive oversight or sheer brass neck from the BBC."
“After they refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization, you would think BBC bosses would try to steer clear of causing any more diplomatic blunders," added the source. “Maybe it’s time to stop letting the BBC decide who represents the UK at Eurovision.”