🍉 A Slice of Reality Blinded by Glitter – Pipeaway Newsletter #217

Hi from Gaza!

Writing this from a secret tunnel under the remains of the hospital that we (the Hamas, of course) have been using as a human shield, so we can enjoy eating cakes and ice-cream, sent under the disguise of “humanitarian help”.

How did I end up here, you wonder, in this rubble by the Mediterranean Sea? First of all, many people don’t know what I mean by ‘sea’. I mean ‘ocean’, ‘water’. That sea. Not see, like in vision. Certainly not Eurovision.

Seemingly miles away from the river to the see dioptry, the global audience blindsighted by lasers, sequins, and half-naked hosts, followed the 70th edition of the song contest that went off track.

The narrative of Eurovision has become hostage to protecting the genocide-committing ally’s right to sing at any cost, even at the cost of Eurovision’s own survival. Five European countries joined the Eurovision boycott over Israel, and Martin Green promised to do ‘aaaaaanything’ in his power to bring them back. Well, anything but what they were asking for: putting Israel‘s participation to a vote (which, according to the ESC director’s blatant PR lies, has already been done in his “democratic organization”). The result is the contest’s birthday party that’s rapidly transforming into its funeral reception.

I’m so glad that I followed my instinct and didn’t head to Austria last week, despite being accredited for the event. Watching Green lose credibility and nerves almost every time he encountered an uncomfortable press question felt embarrassing. The media was right to insist on EBU‘s inconsistency and lack of will to tackle the issue that will ultimately destroy both Eurovision and the prospects of Israel in returning to being appreciated on international cultural stages in any reasonable timeframe.

Then again, does Israel care about it much? In this crazy funfair, the country has learned it can act with impunity, just like in the real world (Martin Green says that Eurovision represents the world as it could be – oh, please, no such curses!). Here, all narratives, as Israel instrumentalizes the contest, work.

High televotes? ‘See, the world loves us.’

Low judge scores? ‘See, the anti-Semitic governments will go to extreme lengths just to not see us winning.’

In any scenario, Israel’s political power comes out stronger, solidifying support for its “righteous” actions in the Middle East. Israeli taxpayers are practically supporting brainwashing through artwashing.

Anyone disagreeing that Israel’s Eurovision performances intend to polish its international image is delusional. So, when the article on whether Israel had staged the audience support in Vienna came out, all hell broke loose.

The accuracy of Pipeaway’s Semi-Final story has been confirmed. In all later dress rehearsals, as well as in the Grand Final itself, the footage of Israel’s act included directed close-up shots of the supportive audience mid-song. Contrary to some commenters’ interpretations, our article wasn’t about the conspiracy that people were cheering for Israel (as some clearly do), but about the Israeli broadcaster’s request for such supportive shots DURING the song, something usually done only for truly interactive performances.

KAN‘s request may be completely legitimate, but it is, above all, a rather smart marketing tactic that successfully projects the song’s positive reception and annuls the loud discontent of the live audience in the arena. The booing, however, couldn’t be muted from the results announcement in the same way it was censored out from Eurovision’s YouTube video of Noam Bettan‘s Semi-Final performance.

No matter how tiny a contribution the scripted fan shots were toward setting the story of how audiences enjoy Israel’s song, many die-hard Eurofans rejected even the possibility of being used as a marketing tool.

Under the Facebook post, I was called deranged, incredibly sick, schizophrenic, paranoid, psycho, Hamas-paid, moron, witch hunter, dick weed, and even Marjorie Taylor Greene.

As expected, the prominent insults were also a Jew hater and an anti-Semite. As certain Simon Svensson, one of, I guess, more religious persons in the room, puts it: “Maybe time to get over your pathological obsession with Jews, you Nazi cunt.”

This kind of full-blast response against analyzing Israel’s marketing strategy on Eurovision is a textbook example of how to avoid real discussions in a society that protects its designed “truth” by avoiding looking into a mirror.

It’s been seen so many times. Conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is indeed quite expected when any issue connected to Israel gets under a magnifying glass. In this, only seemingly religious zeal, an incredible amount of hatred can be spewed, creating a loop that supports the delusion, and probably contributes to real anti-Semitism in the world.

One would think that these self-proclaimed Judaism defenders (in a context in which Judaism was never attacked or even mentioned) would know about Aseret HaDibrot, the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai. One of these foundational Jewish laws says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”. What is indeed calling for anti-Semitism every time someone questions anything connected with Israel, but a manipulation of the religion, and a betrayal of Judaism?

These labeling tactics, intended to suppress free speech, don’t stay just in online forums. As we learned last week in Germany, even a watermelon (sic!) can be inscribed as an indicator of extremism, simply because, in certain circumstances, due to its colors resembling those on the Palestinian flag, it can be interpreted as denying Israel’s “right to exist”.

Eurovision fell into a coma. From the inside of this deranged Stockholm-Syndrome-universe, it might look like a dream of “what the world could look like” when we close our eyes for a moment and leave the problems on the other side of the sanatorium door.

But those problems lying outside are fellow humans, brutally murdered and silenced, while the voice of their wealthy and corrupted West-backed oppressor gets amplified on the world’s grandest music stage.

That’s no one’s dream, Martin Green. That’s a coma. Living on a life-support machine until your family decides to unplug it.

Have a watermelonish week,

Ivan Kralj    
Pipeaway.com

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Ivan Kralj

Editor

Award-winning journalist and editor from Croatia