When the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Israelis hoped other countries would follow suit. Instead, the move has created a backlash. The latest setback threatens the contested city's hopes of hosting the 2019 Eurovision song contest — an affair that has become something of a national obsession.
In this May 12, 2018 file photo, Netta Barzilai from Israel celebrates after winning the Eurovision song contest in Lisbon, Portugal. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)
The Jerusalem recognition, warmly welcomed by Israel, appears to have triggered a series of unexpected diplomatic fiascos.
Earlier this month, Argentina pulled out of a highly anticipated exhibition soccer match with Israel after the government moved the game to Jerusalem. Britain's Prince William, set to visit next week, has listed Jerusalem's Old City as part of the "Occupied Palestinian Territories" on his schedule.
In this May 14, 2018 file photo, from left to right on front row, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara Netanyahu, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, U.S. President's daughter Ivanka Trump, and other dignitaries, attend the opening ceremony of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File)
And now, the city's hopes for the beloved Eurovision finale are fading.
"There is a greater concern this year than any other year I can remember about the political backdrop surrounding Eurovision," said William Lee Adams, who runs a popular Eurovision blog. "Many Eurovision fans build their whole year around a trip to Eurovision, and just given the nature of what's going on their ideal has been tarnished."
Israel won Eurovision last month with a flashy pop tune called "Toy" by the charismatic, previously unknown singer Netta Barzilai, who dazzled viewers with her feminist lyrics, unconventional appearance and signature chicken dance. Her May 12 victory won Israel the right to host next year's Eurovision contest.
In this May 12, 2018 file photo, Netta Barzilai from Israel celebrates after winning the Eurovision song contest in Lisbon, Portugal. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)
But the celebrations were tempered by continued bloodshed along the Gaza border, as well as the controversial move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem two days later.
More than 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since weekly protests began in the Gaza Strip in March. Some 60 people were killed on May 14, marking a jarring contrast to the Israeli jubilation over the embassy move and the Eurovision victory.
Israel says it is defending its border against mass infiltrations by Palestinian militants. But the military has come under international criticism because of the large numbers of unarmed people shot by its troops.
Israel is also confronting an international activist group calling for boycotts against the Jewish state. Supporters say it's a way to promote Palestinian rights through nonviolent means, but Israel says the campaign masks a deeper aim of delegitimizing or even destroying the country.
The so-called BDS group — for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions — has called on the European Broadcasting Union, the contest's sponsor, to boycott the Eurovision contest in Israel next year.
"This contest must be boycotted to avoid complicity and business-as-usual with this regime and to avoid irreversibly tarnishing the Eurovision brand with Israel's egregious human rights record," the group said.
Activists had targeted Barzilai and her song ahead of this year's contest with a campaign calling on voters to award her zero points. But win she did.
The winning country traditionally hosts the contest the following year. But exactly where the show will be held remains an open question.
In Europe, capital cities have usually played host. But the city Israel considers its capital — Jerusalem — is not recognized as such by most of the international community. Just two countries, Guatemala and Paraguay, have followed the U.S. and moved their embassies to Jerusalem.
Hosting the competition in Jerusalem could present a predicament for the public broadcasters that make up the European Broadcasting Union, sparking criticism that they are taking sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel is expected to present four cities as potential hosts, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area in a move that is not internationally recognized. Israel considers the entire city to be its capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
Israel held the Eurovision contest in Jerusalem following its previous victories, most recently in 1999, without incident. But following the snub by Argentina, Israel is backing off its insistence that the contest take place in the city next year.
Argentina canceled the much-awaited match just days before it was to be played, after Israel moved it from its original location in Haifa to Jerusalem, triggering angry Palestinian protests and calls for soccer fans to burn T-shirts of superstar Lionel Messi. Israel said Argentina had canceled because its players received threats from "terrorists."
Israel's outspoken culture and sports minister, Miri Regev, who was the driving force in moving the soccer match to Jerusalem, has also pushed to bring Eurovision to the holy city.
"The state of Israel has the right to decide where Eurovision will be held. I will recommend to the government and to the prime minister that it won't be right to host Eurovision if it will not be held in Jerusalem," Regev told Kan Bet radio.
Sensing that the Eurovision contest could see the same fate as the Argentina game, Israel has taken action to tone down what could be seen as the event's politicization.
After consulting with top aides, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resolved that the government would not intervene in the event.
Israel's internal culture wars have also seeped into the Eurovision show, with an ultra-Orthodox member of Netanyahu's coalition government urging the government to prevent the sabbath from being violated. The finale usually takes place on a Saturday night, shortly after the end of the sabbath, meaning that preparations for the show could violate the sabbath.
The EBU has called for keeping politics out of the contest.
"The EBU insists that every host broadcaster takes all necessary steps to safeguard the non-political character of the event," it said.
According to the EBU, initial discussions about the contest began this week and the host city is set to be announced by September.
Israel has fought to stave off any inroads by the boycott movement, making lists of activists and denying them entry to the country. It has formed a government ministry whose primary mission is to combat the group.
The movement's successes have been mixed. It takes credit for persuading a slew of musicians not to perform in Israel.
But many others still do and Israel recently hosted the first leg of the Giro D'Italia, the first time the cycling event has been held outside of Europe, despite fierce BDS opposition. The first stage of the race took place in Jerusalem.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Some U.S. universities called in police to break up demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests Thursday, as the final days of the semester ticked down and graduation ceremonies loomed.
At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested at an alleyway encampment overnight and four police officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Boston police said. Those arrested were expected to appear Thursday in Boston Municipal Court.
Video of the scuffle shows students in the alleyway linking arms and using umbrellas to resist officers, who move forcefully through the crowd and throw some protesters to the ground. College leaders had earlier warned students that the alley, which is not solely owned by Emerson, had a public right-of-way and city authorities had threatened to take action if the protesters didn't leave. The video shows officers first warning students to leave before moving in. Emerson canceled classes Thursday.
Another 93 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department said. There were no reports of injuries.
While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few weeks. Columbia continued to negotiate with students after several failed attempts — and more than 100 arrests — to clear the encampment.
At USC, tensions were already high after the university canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing safety concerns. After scuffles with police early Wednesday, a few dozen demonstrators standing in a circle with locked arms were detained one by one without incident later in the evening.
Officers encircled the dwindling group sitting in defiance of an earlier warning to disperse or be arrested. Beyond the police line, hundreds of onlookers watched as helicopters buzzed overhead. The school closed the campus.
Earlier Wednesday, officers at the University of Texas at Austin aggressively detained dozens of protesters. Hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and holding batons — bulldozed into protesters, at one point sending some tumbling into the street. Officers pushed their way into the crowd and made 34 arrests at the behest of the university and Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
A photographer covering the demonstration for Fox 7 Austin was in the push-and-pull when an officer yanked him backward to the ground, video shows. The station confirmed that the photographer was arrested. A longtime Texas journalist was knocked down in the mayhem and could be seen bleeding before police helped him to emergency medical staff.
Dane Urquhart, a third-year Texas student, called the police presence and arrests an “overreaction," adding that the protest “would have stayed peaceful” if the officers had not turned out in force.
“Because of all the arrests, I think a lot more (demonstrations) are going to happen,” Urquhart said.
Police left after hours of efforts to control the crowd, and about 300 demonstrators moved back in to sit on the grass and chant under the school's iconic clock tower.
In a statement Wednesday night, the university's president, Jay Hartzell, said: “Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied."
North of USC, protesters at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, were barricaded inside a building for a third day. The school shut down campus through the weekend and made classes virtual.
Harvard University in Massachusetts had sought to stay ahead of protests this week by limiting access to Harvard Yard and requiring permission for tents and tables. That didn't stop protesters from setting up a camp with 14 tents Wednesday after a rally against the university’s suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its monthslong conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus as graduation nears, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.
At New York University this week, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody, while over 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University.
Columbia University averted another confrontation between students and police earlier Wednesday. University President Minouche Shafik had set on Tuesday a midnight deadline to reach an agreement on clearing an encampment, but the school extended negotiations until early Friday.
On a visit to campus Wednesday, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, called on Shafik to resign “if she cannot bring order to this chaos.”
“If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, a Columbia spokesperson said rumors that the university had threatened to bring in the National Guard were unfounded. “Our focus is to restore order, and if we can get there through dialogue, we will,” said Ben Chang, Columbia’s vice president for communications.
Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists in various locations including Joey Cappelletti, Will Weissert, Larry Lage, Steve LeBlanc, Dave Collins, Jim Salter, Haven Daley, Jesse Bedayn, John Antczak, Julie Walker and Joseph Krauss.
Georgia State Patrol officers detain a demonstrator on the campus of Emory Univeristy during a Israel Palestinian protest, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Protesters chant at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
State troopers on horses push back protesters during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Cameron Llewellyn chants from a balcony during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
University of Texas police approach protesters to apprehend them during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A state trooper yells for protesters to move back during a pro-Palestinian rally at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Protests Wednesday on the campuses of at least two universities involved clashes with police, while another university shut down its campus for the rest of the week. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A demonstrator is restrained by police at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A row of Palestinian flags are seen on the fence at the pro-Palestinians demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
University of Southern California protesters fight with University Public Safety officers as they try to remove tents at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to the media on the Lower Library steps on Columbia University's campus in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Students and press look on as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to the media on the Lower Library steps on Columbia University's campus in New York, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Tents erected at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
A University of Southern California protester, right, confronts a University Public Safety officer at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A pro-Palestinian protester, who declined to give her name, leads chants at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Texas state troopers in riot gear try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
University of Southern California protesters push and shove University Public Safety officers as tempers get heated during a pro-Palestinian occupation on the University of Southern California campus Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Texas state troopers march down Speedway during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Demonstrators chant at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
State troopers try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of college campuses following last week's arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
University of Texas police officers arrest a man at a pro-Palestinian protest on campus, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
