Swiss police have been asked to investigate an alleged hate crime aimed at Israel’s Eurovision entrant, Yuval Raphael.
During the opening parade for this year’s competition, set to kick off tomorrow, a member of the Israeli delegation filmed their bus being mobbed by pro-Palestine activists as it drove through the host city of Basel.
In the clip, a man at the front of the crowd walked alongside the bus wearing a keffiyeh tied around his head and a t-shirt carrying the slogan “boycott Israel apartheid”.
He was waving a Palestinian flag and blowing on a whistle, while occasionally shouting inaudibly at the delegation.
However, at the start of the video he could clearly be seen drawing his hand across his own neck in a “throat-slitting” gesture.
Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation, which is carrying the event domestically through state broadcaster Kan, has confirmed that it officially lodged a complaint with Eurovision organiser the European Broadcasting Union, requesting that the man is identified.
Kan also filed a criminal complaint with Swiss police, asking them to investigate the threatening gesture, calling it “a targeted hate crime”.
The video of the incident was later posted to social media by the official account of the State of Israel, bearing the caption: “Israel’s Eurovision representative Yuval Raphael, a Nova massacre survivor, was ‘welcomed’ in Basel by a hostile crowd… Yet she stands tall, singing for her country. Her love will always outshine their hate.”
Basel’s emergency services said in a statement that the parade “went off without any significant problems”, adding: “The police were able to stop around 150 people at the Messeplatz through their presence and thus prevent the official event from being disrupted.”
It comes after Israel’s National Security Council advised those travelling to Basel for the event to avoid displaying Jewish or Israel symbols due to the risk of demonstrations in the city. Israeli tourists were also advised to delete any social media posts referencing their service in the IDF, while active soldiers were instructed to avoid posting anything online that could reveal where they are staying.
Eurovision heats will begin tomorrow, building up to the grand final on Saturday night. Raphael will perform her single New Day Will Rise, inspired by her own ordeal during the October 7, 2023 massacres.
