Madonna to perform at Eurovision in Israel

American pop superstar Madonna will perform at this year’s controversial Eurovision Song Contest, which is being held in Tel Aviv.

The European Broadcasting Union confirmed that the 60-year-old singer is set to perform two songs at Eurovision, including a classic track and a new single.

Madonna is expected to be accompanied by a 160-person entourage.

This will be Madonna’s fourth performance in Israel. The first came in 1993, and was followed by concerts in 2009 and 2012.

READ: France threatens to boycott Eurovision over Israel TV show

There have been numerous calls for all artists to boycott this year’s contest and not to allow the arts to whitewash Israeli aggression against Palestinians.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and Jewish Voice For Peace called on Madonna to cancel her performance.

PACBI took to Twitter to send a message to Madonna, telling her performance and star-power “will help cover up Israel’s abuses against the Palestinians.”

Tell Madonna that performing at Eurovision in Israel means lending her star-power to cover up Israel’s continued human rights abuses and harms the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality.

The tweet was followed by the hashtag #MadonnaDontGo.

Jewish Voice for Peace also tweeted: “Stay home, Madonna. Lend your voice for freedom.”

“There’s no neutrality in situations of injustice. Please stand with us on the right side of history to create a better world for all and cancel your performance at Eurovision. If you believe in equality and dignity for all, you will choose not to lend your star-power to the far-right Israeli government that is using Eurovision to cover up their continued human rights abuses. Your performance at Eurovision will bring harm to the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality.”

READ: 50 artists urge BBC to boycott Eurovision in Israel

Recently, some 171 Swedish artists and celebrities signed an open letter urging for the boycott of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and stressed that “as long as Israel, with its apartheid policy, denies the Palestinians their basic human rights, we must renounce all participation in Israeli cultural exchanges.”

In September 2018, over 140 artists from around the world, including six Israeli artists, signed a letter calling for the boycott of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest if it is “hosted by Israel while it continues its grave, decades-old violations of Palestinian human rights.”