Federal President Van der Bellen defends artist JJ after ESC criticism

Federal President Van der Bellen defends artist JJ after ESC criticism

The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is at the center of a controversy debate after the winner JJ, whose bourgeois name is Johannes Pietsch, has had a sharp criticism of the participation of Israel in the ESC 2026 in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais. He said it was disappointing that Israel continued to take part in the competition and advocated a contest without Israel. His critical statements were not only discussed in public, but also taken up by various political and cultural actors.

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has now commented on these controversial statements. He emphasized that it was important to differentiate between the attitude to the state of Israel and the criticism of the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu. Van der Bellen warned against blaming artists for the political actions of their governments, and spoke out against general convictions, both towards Israel and the cultural workers themselves.

criticism and reactions to JJ's statements

The statements of JJ between the lines of the ESC led to broad criticism from different social classes. Oskar Deutsch, President of the Israelite Culture Community, described JJ's statements "disappointing, but above all dangerous". In a further step, Israel's ambassador in Austria, David Roet, invited JJ to a personal conversation to discuss the topics he had addressed. Alexander Pröll, State Secretary for the fight against anti -Semitism, also clearly positioned himself and found that terror and anti -Semitism have no place in society.

In addition, the ORF criticized the statements as a personal opinion and emphasized that the EBU acts as an association of many public broadcasters and is not dependent on governments.

social context and challenges

The discussion about JJ's statements also reveals larger topics that affect the perception of Israel and the Jewish communities in many countries. Experts point out that there is a paradigm shift in public rhetoric, which is increasingly no longer perceiving Israel as a refuge, but as a supposed aggressor. In many western societies, terms such as "apartheid" and "genocide" have entered the discourse, which in parts of society leads to an alienation of Jewish communities.

In a written comment, the values of the ESC, such as tolerance and diversity, were criticized as hypocrisy. This year's motto "United by Music" is contrasting to the current challenges of the social principles, which are often only used selectively. Critics fear that these selective moral guidelines could make the integrity and the claim of the ESC a mere empty staging.

For more information on the current events related to the Eurovision Song Contest and the JJ's statements, please visit 5min.at Press] (https://www.diepresse.com/19719292/unverrueckbare-zu-israel-van-bellen-aeuserts-zu-jj) and NZZ.