Genocide and glitz, torch songs and torched bodies, savagery and silliness, bombshell blondes and 2000-pound bombs, terror and trivia, nul points and annihilation, camp and catastrophe. To fit Gaza and the Eurovision Song Contest into the same sentences, we must leave irony far behind and venture deep into the realms of the grotesque. The absurd conjunction forced into the headlines by RTÉ’s decision to withdraw from the competition in protest at Israel’s continued participation verges on blasphemy.

And yet it also gets us close to a profoundly potent contradiction: the idea of Israel as a European country. Involvement in Eurovision is not, strictly speaking, confined to European counties – Australia and Morocco have strutted their stuff in previous years. But Israel’s long and very prominent history in Eurovision is an important part of its sense of location.

It sings European songs and its football clubs play in European competitions. In other sports such as basketball, handball, athletics and swimming, Israel is a member of the relevant European associations. It is also an equal participant in the European Union’s Horizon scientific research programme.

These things matter. Whether it’s Dana International winning the Eurovision or Maccabi Tel Aviv playing Aston Villa in the Europa League or Ireland’s women basketball players

© The Irish Times