One stage invasion, three sparkly outfit changes, and many awkward pauses after the presenters’ ‘jokes’ later, Israel’s Netta Barzilai was announced as the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.  Her song, ’Toy’, currently has over 50 million views on Youtube and is being hailed by bloggers and state news reporters alike as the new feminist anthem in the West.

Barzilai received 529 votes in total, her win over Austria and Cyprus ultimately achieved by the public votes, but there was an important facet of her performance that the public seemed to miss. Not her blatant cultural appropriation of kimonos and maneki-neko although that did receive little attention but rather, the nature of the state that she was representing.

As Israeli citizens celebrated their win on the streets of Tel Aviv with public singing and dancing, Palestinians protested on the borders against the opening of the new US consulate in Jerusalem. At the time of writing this, Israeli Defense Forces killed  58 people and wounded over 2000 others on Monday in the Gaza Strip and the city of Jerusalem was placed on lockdown.

Culture does not operate in some special, apolitical space, although many journalists and state speakers would like you to think otherwise. An artist cannot be separated from their context and neither can their product, especially when that product is part of a government-supported cultural propaganda.  After the massacres of the Gaza War ended in 2009, Israel announced more money for ‘cultural diplomacy’, with one government official stating their plan to “send well-known novelists and writers overseas, theatre companies, exhibits” to “show Israel’s prettier face”. This prettier face has manifested itself in a variety of figures, with one of the most famous being Gal Gadot who played the title role in 2017’s Wonder Woman film.

Israel is under frequent criticism for “pinkwashing”, the strategy of diverting attention from their constant expansion into Palestinian territories and creation of new settlement plans by presenting themselves as an LGBTQ+ friendly nation — a status that is vastly exaggerated when one looks at the reality of their legislation. They carry out what is best referred to as a “not in our backyard” approach, not allowing surrogacy for same-sex couples or the performance of civil partnerships or same-sex marriages. This granting of existence to some is used to wash over the withholding of rights from others.

The Eurovision itself has been inherently political since its inception. It was created by the European Broadcasting Union in post-war Europe as a way of unifying countries with “light-hearted entertainment”, despite the judges’ obvious disapproval of countries using their entries to make political statements the practice continues — with the presence alone of certain countries exposing the unstable reality of our neighbourly relations. When Madrid hosted the contest in 1969, Austria refused to take part as criticism of the Franco-dictatorship. In 2015 Armenia used their entry to call out their neighbours — notably Azerbaijan and Israel — for refusing to recognise the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians on its centenary.

Even for those who would still argue for the separation of the entry from the actions of the government that they are representing, the closing statement of Barzilai’s acceptance speech clearly demonstrates her position: “Next time in Jerusalem.” It’s been almost six weeks since Passover ended so there can be no illusions about her intention. This declaration of Jerusalem as next year’s host destination, confirmed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, is particularly potent in the wake of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba — meaning ‘catastrophe’ in Arabic — when 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly removed from their homes and replaced through the process of settler-colonialism. This complacency on Barzilai’s part is further supported by a glance at her previous actions on behalf of the government, most notably when she performed the song ‘My Sailor is My Angel’ for members of the Israeli navy, months before those same members took part in the Operation Protective Edge massacre in Gaza, and who enforce the maritime blockade of the strip — restricting Gaza residents contact with the world and their means of survival.

Some reporters have stated that ‘Toy’ references the #metoo movement, although this connection can only be made with the single line “I’m not your toy” which admittedly does stand out amongst the chicken-noises. But this connection is a fractious one, for there is nothing feminist about oppressing an indigenous population, thus the representatives of that oppressing power cannot receive those social points.  It is also an old adage which many female musicians have paraphrased over the years but have not received the same level of public acclaim.

‘Artwashing’, ‘Eurowashing’ — regardless of what term is used, music remains Israel’s most popular global relations strategy, and therefore it is essential to acknowledge the subtle propaganda through the loose and bias definition of ‘politicalness’ by the Eurovision’s coordinators. The Palestinian flag is banned from display at the Eurovision on the grounds that the contest is “non- political”, classing it with the flag used by ISIS, as if the Israeli flag on proud display — holding a significant amount of air time in comparison to the 25 other countries performing that night — sends no political message to the Palestinian diaspora in forced exile on the continent.

Like all mass culture, the Eurovision is an intrinsic part of what philosopher Louis Althusser called the “ideological state apparatus”, and the bright stage lights serve to expertly obscure the ugly reality of an apartheid regime. Distracted by the diversity of Israeli representatives on this musical stage, such as transgender singer Dana International in 1998 and the quirky Netta Barzilai in 2018, we, the 200 million strong audience, are taught to look away from the ongoing violence in Gaza and the erosion of human rights suffered by the Palestinian people. Israel is not the glittery home of the new #metoo anthem: it is a nation where the indigenous Palestinian population are treated as lesser citizens, with no entitlement to the highest level of citizenship accorded only to their settler counterparts, leaving them with little to no human rights such as access to water and freedom of movement as accorded to them by the United Nations.

At a time when high-profile celebrities have begun distancing themselves from Israel — from Lorde cancelling a planned concert to Israeli-born Natalie Portman declining a gala in her honour due to the political climate — this victory on the European stage is an insult to the families torn apart by the Israeli government, but it also poses the opportunity for the BDS  (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement to take a collective stand against Brand Israel.