We understand that OMNI (Rogers) will be broadcasting the 2019 Eurovision in Canada.  

We ask:

Is a song contest more important than human rights?

Are advertising dollars worth more than international law?

Palestinian people have been refugees or second-class citizens since Israel was created in 1948. Since 1967, the people of occupied Palestine have been under a brutal military occupation for over 50 years, and for those in Gaza they have lived under a blockade for a dozen years.  

On Friday (March 22, 2019), at the close of its 40th regular session, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council adopted on four resolutions on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including on accountability within the context of the Great Return March, adopting the recommendations of the UN Commission of Inquiry. This in particular calls on Israel to lift its closure of the Gaza Strip with immediate effect and to fulfill the right to health of protected Palestinians, including injured protesters from the Great Return March.

In Canada, Al Haq, and Just Peace Advocates, has a campaign Gaza2020 calling for the Canadian government to take the required steps to ensure its own foreign policy follows that of its responsibility under domestic and international law.  

We call on OMNI/Rogers to join with the majority of Canadians. The majority of Canadians support the Palestinian call for boycott of Israel, with 78% indicating this to be the case during 2017 EKOS poll. We trust you would want to align with the majority, and so ask you to cancel your broadcast plans for Eurovision 2019.

We also invite you to call on the Canadian government to put sanctions in place until the blockade is lifted on Gaza.

We can’t celebrate Eurovision in Israel while the Israeli government enforces apartheid and ongoing human rights abuses against Palestinians.

Just like the campaign that ended apartheid in South Africa, your international solidarity is vital.

We call OMNI (Rogers) to cancel thier broadcast of Eurovision 2019.