The BBC is being urged to drop pop singer Olly Alexander as the UK’s Eurovision Song Contest entrant after he signed an open letter that branded Israel an “apartheid regime” and a “violent colonialist state”.
On Saturday, the Years and Years singer was announced as the UK’s representative for the contest in Sweden next year, but his appointment was swiftly criticised.
The letter, which was published less than two weeks after the October 7 massacre, is titled “International Queer Solidarity with Palestine”, and has been signed by over 1,400 LGBTQ+ individuals and organisations including Alexander, who is gay and has been a champion of LGBTQ+ charity campaigns.
The letter called solidarity with Palestine a “queer issue, going on to accuse the Israeli government of committing a genocide and decrying the “pink washing” of ‘‘Zionist propaganda” in its representation of Israel as an LGBTQ-friendly state in contrast with repressive attitudes towards homosexuality in other Middle Eastern countries.
“This functions as part of a colonial logic that uses racist and Islamophobic narratives to justify Western and white supremacist colonisation as a way of ‘freeing’ or ‘saving’ those they are exploiting and oppressing,” the letter said.
Same sex activity is illegal in Palestine, carrying a prison sentence of up to 10 years, while Israel is widely understood to be the most LGBTQ-friendly country in the Middle East.
An Israeli official told The Telegraph: “Few things are more absurd than the queer community standing with a radical Islamist society in its obsession to destroy the only country in the Middle East where queer people can simply be themselves.
“It warrants serious research to figure out where it is coming from. As for genocide – it is defined as ‘acts committed with intent to destroy, in who or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.’ it is clear to any unbiased person that the only genocide in this country took place on October 7, and the victims were Israelis.”
Broadcaster Angela Epstein said it was not an excuse that Alexander signed the letter prior to being appointed the UK’s entrant and told LBC Radio: “With profile comes responsibility, so he’s propagating lies which are anti-Israel which therefore contribute to spiralling antisemitism.”
“The BBC, which is already being accused of bias in its reporting of Israel... they are grasping at straws to justify their position. If they really want to do something for the Jewish community or anyone who believes in humanity or equality, they should make him stand down.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism added on X/Twitter: “When nearly seven in ten British Jews feel afraid to express their identity in public, [Olly Alexander] must not be the person to represent our country.”
Oli Alexander, the BBC and Voices4London have been contacted for comment.
