Activists held a symbolic action of solidarity with Palestine during the performance of Israeli Apartheid supporter and 2018 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Netta Barzilai, at the Malta EuroPride opening concert. The activists present at the concert waved Palestinian flags and held placards condemning the pinkwashing of Israeli apartheid and occupation.

Netta Barzilai has regularly participated in initiatives organised by the Israeli state outside Israel, in initiatives that celebrate the banishment of Palestinians from their homeland, and in concerts of the far right. According to her, the bad reputation of the Israeli state on the international scene is simply a question of “bad PR” and not because of its politics of terror (see here).

This symbolic action of solidarity with Palestine serves as reminder that Israeli state efforts to erase its oppression of the Palestinian people from the international agenda will never be successful. Millions of people around the world continue to have Palestine in their minds and hearts, and are ready to hold Israel to account for its colonisation of Palestinian land and its brutality against the Palestinian people.

Last month, five Maltese organisations, including organisations that were pioneers in organising Pride events in Malta, called for Netta Barzilai’s invitation to be revoked. They stated that the principles of equality and freedom are not a menu from which one chooses at will, highlighting the huge contradiction that a manifestation such as EuroPride – that is supposed to celebrate love and equality – embraces personalities who are accomplices in the racism, killings and ethnic cleansing of the Apartheid state of Israel. The request to remove Barzilai from the event was ignored by the organisers.

Netta Barzilai is one of those persons who is targeted by the campaign “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” called by Palestinian civil society. In the same way that in the nineties, the Apartheid regime in South Africa came to an end following international boycotts and sanctions, Palestinian civil society wants the world to put pressure on the Apartheid state of Israel by means of boycotts and sanctions against all those that in one way or another are accomplices in its actions.

Activists showed their support for the Palestinian cause by reminding the general public that Palestinians have been massacred in their thousands, and that hundreds of thousands have been forced out of their lands by inhumane and illegal Israeli state actions since 1948. No amount of pinkwashing will erase these atrocities.

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Stqarrija għall-Istampa 08.09.23
‘Pride MHUX Apartheid’ – Attivisti b’azzjoni simbolika waqt il-prestazzjoni ta’ Netta Barzilai fil-EuroPride

Grupp ta’ attivisti wettqu azzjoni simbolika ta’ solidarjetà mal-Palestina waqt il-prestazzjoni ta’ Netta Barzilai, ir-rebbieħa Iżraeljana tal-Eurovision Song Contest tal-2018 li tappoġġja r-reġim ta’ Apartheid tal-Iżrael, waqt il-kunċert ta’ ftuħ tal-EuroPride f’Malta. L-attivisti li kienu preżenti fil-kunċert xejru bnadar Palestinjani u żammew kartelluni b’messaġġ ta’ kundanna għall-’pinkwashing’ tal-apartheid u l-okkupazzjoni mill-istat Iżraeljan.

Netta Barzilai ta’ spiss ħadet sehem f’inizjattivi organizzati mill-istat Iżraeljan barra mill-Iżrael, f’inizjattivi li jiċċeleberaw it-tkeċċija tal-Palestinjani minn arthom, u f’kunċerti tal-lemin estrem. Skontha, il-fama ħażina li għandu l-istat Iżraeljan fuq livell internazzjonali hija biss kwistjoni ta’ “bad PR” u mhux riżultat tal-politika qattiela tiegħu (ara hawnhekk).

Din l-azzjoni simbolika ta’ solidarjetà mal-Palestina sservi ta’ tfakkira li l-isforzi tal-istat Iżraeljan li jelimina l-oppressjoni tal-poplu Palestinjan mill-aġenda internazzjonali qatt mhu se jkollhom suċċess. Il-Palestina tibqa’ fl-imħuħ u fil-qlub ta’ miljuni ta’ persuni madwar id-dinja, li huma lesti li jżommu lill-Iżrael responsabbli għall-kolonizzazzjoni tal-art Palestinjana u l-brutalità fil-konfront tal-poplu Palestinjan.

Ix-xahar li għadda, ħames għaqdiet Maltin, inkluż għaqdiet li kienu pijunieri fl-organizzazzjoni ta’ avvenimenti tal-Pride f’Malta, appellaw biex l-istedina lil Netta Barzilai tiġi revokata. Huma ddikjaraw li l-prinċipji tal-ugwaljanza u l-libertà mhumiex xi menù li wieħed jista’ jagħżel minnu kif jidhirlu, u enfasizzaw l-aspett kontradittorju kbir fil-fatt li manifestazzjoni bħall-EuroPride – li suppost tiċċelebra l-imħabba u l-ugwaljanza – tħaddan personalitajiet li huma kompliċi fir-razziżmu, il-qtil, u t-tindif etniku mwettqa mill-istat ta’ Apartheid Iżraeljan. It-talba biex Barzilai titneħħa mill-avveniment ġiet injorata mill-organizzaturi.

Netta Barzilai hija waħda mill-persuni fil-mira tal-kampanja “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” imsejħa mis-soċjetà ċivili Palestinjana. Bl-istess mod kif fid-disgħinijiet ir-reġim t’Apartheid fl-Afrika t’Isfel ġie fi tmiemu wara bojkottaġġ u sanzjonijiet internazzjonali, is-soċjetà ċivili Palestinjana trid li d-dinja titfa’ pressjoni fuq l-istat t’Apartheid Iżraeljan permezz ta’ bojkottaġġ u sanzjonijiet kontra dawk kollha li b’xi mod jew ieħor huma kompliċi fl-azzjonijiet tiegħu.

L-attivisti wrew l-appoġġ tagħhom għall-kawża Palestinjana billi fakkru lill-pubbliku inġenerali li l-Palestinjani ġew immassakrati fl-eluf tagħhom, u li mijiet ta’ eluf ġew imġiegħla jitilqu minn arthom b’azzjonijiet inumani u illegali mwettqa mill-istat tal-Iżrael sa mill-1948. L-ebda ammont ta’ pinkwashing mhuwa se jħassar dawn l-atroċitajiet.