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Palestine steps up efforts against Eurovision 2019 in Israel

Following an open letter of international artists to The Guardian against the holding of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Israel, Palestine steps up rhetoric against the song contest.
Israel's Netta arrives for the news conference after winning the Grand Final of Eurovision Song Contest 2018 at the Altice Arena hall in Lisbon, Portugal, May 13, 2018.  REUTERS/Pedro Nunes - RC1562380820
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — As pro-Palestinian advocates stepped up their requests for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 scheduled to take place in Israel, Palestinian Minister of Culture Ehab Bseiso called on all cultural promoters in Europe and elsewhere to use culture as “a tool for justice, not oppression.”

Speaking at a press conference in Ramallah Sept. 17, Bseiso accused Israel of regularly violating Palestinian rights in the occupied territories, particularly for artists, by either restricting their movement, arresting them for their works of art and closing cultural institutions.

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