Helen Mirren, Gene Simmons among 400+ supporting Israel’s participation in Eurovision

Over 400 leaders from the entertainment industry signed an open letter in support of the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) public commitment to include Israel in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace announced Wednesday.

Actress Helen Mirren, who portrayed former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the 2023 film “Golda,” was among the 400+ signatories. Liev Schreiber, Gene Simmons, Scooter Braun, Boy George, Mayim Bialik, and Sharon Osbourne were also among the highest-profile signees. 

While the EBU ruled that Israel would continue to participate, there have been calls to ban Israel in past years – voices that have gotten stronger since the Hamas massacre on October 7 and the subsequent outbreak of war. Finnish and Icelandic artists, as well as protesters in Norway, called for Israel to be banned from the competition in January.

Over 1,400 Finnish artists joined Icelandic music industry professionals in a petition, which read, in part, “It is not in accordance with our values that a country that commits war crimes and continues a military occupation is given a public stage to polish its image in the name of music.”

‘An inversion of justice’

“We, the undersigned members of the entertainment industry, are writing to express our support for Israel’s continued inclusion in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. We have been shocked and disappointed to see some members of the entertainment community calling for Israel to be banished from the Contest for responding to the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” the letter began.

“October 7th was a day in which a music festival meant to celebrate life was attacked by Hamas and saw 364 innocent civilians killed, hundreds maimed and brutalized, over 40 festivalgoers taken hostage, and many raped.

“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,” the letter declared.

KISS musician Gene Simmons, who was born in Haifa, said, “Music unites people from all backgrounds. It’s the one language that everyone can understand. It’s a beautiful thing and a great way to bring people together. Those advocating to exclude an Israeli singer from Eurovision don’t move the needle towards peace, but only further divide the world.”

The Big Bang Theory actress and former Jeopardy! Host Mayim Bialik, who is an observant Jew, said, “After a horrendous violent attack on Israeli civilians, calls for boycotts and excluding Israeli artists from international events simply because they are Israeli is abhorrent and shameful. Targeting Israeli musicians in this way tarnishes the unifying spirit that is Eurovision.”

“We join entertainment industry leaders in rejecting the vilification of Israel on the global music stage. After thousands of innocent Israelis were killed, over 360 of them at a music festival as they danced in celebration of life, to see some respond in this fashion is shameful,” CCFP’s Chairman, David Renzer, and Executive Director, Ari Ingel said in the letter. “We hope Eurovision stands firm in the face of this misguided, discriminatory boycott attempt. We want the world to know that the entertainment industry supports the Contest and all this year’s amazing participants, including Israel’s.”