Helen Mirren is among the celebrities who have lent their star backing to an open letter demanding Eurovision Song Contest bosses keep Israel in this year’s competition.
The moves comes in response to a group of Icelandic musicians who led calls for Israel’s entry to be excluded due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
War broke out in Israel on October 7 after the terrorist group Hamas launched an attack on Israeli citizens, prompting the country to respond with a series of ground and air attacks on Gaza.
According to Reuters, at least 28,064 Palestinians have been killed and 67,611 others have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since the October 7 insurgence.
Hamas killed 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals during its October 7 attacks. They still hold more than 100 hostages.
This year’s Eurovision is set to to place in Sweden in May with preparations already underway and organisers facing increasing pressure to take action against Israel.
Now, pro-Israel organisation Creative Community for Peace, which works to counter antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the entertainment industry, has issued an open letter denouncing those looking to take issue with Israel entering that annual competition as "subverting the spirit of the Contest and turning it from a celebration of unity into a tool of politics".
British stars including Mirren, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Boy George and Sharon Osbourne are among those who have signed the open letter while representing the US signatories are Liev Schreiber, Gene Simmons, Scooter Braun, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, and Emmy Rossum.
The lengthy address claims that "Israel is fighting a war against a European Union-designated terrorist group that once again broke a ceasefire that day, and then went on to slaughter over 1,200 people.
"This current round of fighting is not a war that Israel wanted or started. To punish Israel would be an inversion of justice."
