Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540142
A coalition of NGOs has sub- mitted a formal letter to Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, calling on the government to withdraw from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to compete. "We want Malta to join the growing list of countries, those being Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and Slovenia, putting pressure on the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Israel from the upcoming edition of the Eurovision Song Contest based on its war crimes against the Palestinian people and the genocide it is currently commit- ting," the organisations said in a statement. The letter follows Bonnici's recent statement insisting that Malta remain a participant in Eurovision regardless of Israel's involvement. France has already confirmed it will be participating in next year's contest, while Spain recently became the first to officially an- nounce it would withdraw from next year's Eurovision should Israel not be banned. However, Germany has said it will consider boycotting next year's Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is excluded. EBU confirmed last month that it will hold an online vote in November that could see Israeli broadcaster KAN expelled from Eurovision 2026. The NGOs condemned this stance, saying Malta should not "take part in a contest that so eas- ily sweeps war crimes to the side for the sake of entertainment". The signatories said that while they welcome the Maltese gov- ernment's decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine, this gesture would remain "mere- ly symbolic and unsubstantiated" unless it is followed by real action against what they describe as "the total annihilation of Palestine and the Palestinian people by Israel". The NGOs said that engaging in dialogue with what they called a rogue state like Israel is no longer acceptable. They questioned how much longer Palestinians must continue to suffer and lose their lives under the excuse of promot- ing dialogue with a government that has shown no interest in peace. They urged Malta to take a firm stand and make it clear to Israel and the international communi- ty that the country will not turn a blind eye to crimes against hu- manity. The letter was signed by Mov- iment Graffitti, Inizjamed, Sol- idarjetà, Lebanese Advocates, Watermelon Warriors, Ġusti- zzja għall-Palestina, the Gen- eral Workers Union, Għaqda għall-Ġustizzja, Ugwaljanza u Paċi, the Embassy of Palestine, Skop, and Kopin. 2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2025 NEWS JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt Malta should withdraw from Eurovision if Israel competes, NGOs say NGOs urge Culture Minister Owen Bonnici to pull Malta from Eurovision if Israel competes, citing war crimes against Palestinians Adrian Delia's partner Cynthia Galea announces bid for PN executive CYNTHIA Galea has an- nounced that she will be con- testing for a position on the Na- tionalist Party's executive. "It's easy to complain. It's easy to say what needs to be done. But if we really want change, everyone needs to reach out; everyone offers what they know and what they believe in. I'm ready to do my part," she wrote on Facebook on Monday night. She also emphasised the need for building a "broader, more representative and truly peo- ple-oriented politics within the party." Galea is a Gozitan lawyer and the partner of Adrian Delia, who recently contested the PN leadership election. Delia lost the election to Alex Borg by a mere 44 votes in Sep- tember. She outlined what she hopes to bring to the executive, stat- ing she would like to offer her perspective as a mother, a Gozitan and a lawyer. Gozitan lawyer and partner of Adrian Delia says she wants to offer a 'new perspective' JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt Adrian Delia and Cynthia Galea