Israel: “Fill your mouth with ice cubes and shut up” says Yizhar Cohen to Icelanders!
Yizhar Cohen, the first Israeli winner of Eurovision, responds harshly to Icelanders who have previously called for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2024 through protests and petitions to the Icelandic broadcaster.
So far, no EBU member has called for Israel’s exclusion from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, with Israel proceeding with its usual preparations to select the artist who will represent the country in Malmö in May. However, Israel’s participation in the competition remains a hot topic in Iceland.
We previously informed you of a protest by pro-Palestinian organizations in front of the headquarters of the Icelandic national television RÚV, in which protesters demand that the EBU excludes Israel from Eurovision 2024. They even gathered 9,500 signatures calling on RUV to leave Iceland in protest if Israel finally participates. Also, the association of composers and lyricists of the country, in an official announcement, calls on RUV to boycott Eurovision 2024 due to the Israeli participation.
The first Israeli winner in the Eurovision Song Contest, Yizhar Cohen, was asked to give his opinion on the protesters in Iceland. Yizhar Cohen was the winner of the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest with the now-classic “A Ba Ni Bi“, and his career has been on the rise ever since.
Invited to Channel 13, Cohen responded to Icelanders who express disapproval of Israel’s participation in a very firm manner by speaking in English so that he could be understood by all:
My dear fellow anti-Semitic “ice friends”. We know that you hate…sorry, that you dislike us. When the Eurovision took place in Tel Aviv, your group was hanging out with extremists Palestinians and supported terror against us. You know you are fighting for human rights for everybody in the globe, except for the human rights of Israelis and human rights of Jews, and that’s why you are anti-Semitic. So now you want to boycott us in Eurovision 2024. You are fed by so many lies and pro-Palestinian propaganda and you know completely nothing about us. You just shout, shout and shout. So I have an idea for you – maybe instead of bringing your political views in Eurovision, just bring a great song and win the contest? That’s the way that we’ll remember you. If not, you can continue keep barking as much as you want. I have a secret for you – we will stay here for another 50 thousand years, if you like it or not.
You have a lot of ice in Iceland, right? So, fill your mouths with ice cubes and shut up!
How do you judge the words of Izhar Cohen? Tell us in the comments below! Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!
I heard Mr. Yizhar Cohen’s comments on the radio and was very sad to hear his hateful comment about me and my countrymen. – My message to him is that I hope he will be able to recover from this dreadful way of thinking and become a valid member of our global community again where we hold mutual respect and human quality in high regard.celand
Sign. Haukur Haraldsson Reykjavik; Iceland
Just some bullshit. Some brainwashed old grumpy guy … stop talking about anti-semitism. Just meaningless. Palestinians are also Semites and i am sure there is a lot of people in Israel who are not crazy … just because you criticize some maniacs doesn´t mean you are an anti-semit.