I still remember the shrieks of joy in Jerusalem on May 12. I was at a friend's house, where there was a big party to celebrate the American Embassy moving to Jerusalem. Many American Jews and pro-Israel Christians had come for the great celebration and we were already, understandably, in a joyous mood. Was that why everyone was screeching in the kitchen?
No, it was something else. Israel had won the Eurovision Song Competition. And although this was Israel's fourth victory, in many ways it was the Jewish state's sweetest victory.
First, it was the first time the country had won in two decades, since Dana International won with "Diva" in 1998. But back then there was no BDS and no global effort to boycott Israel. Sure, Arab countries were always trying to destroy Israel, either with military onslaughts or economic boycotts. But the rest of the world was not on board. But with BDS in the new millennium, people – especially in Europe – joined the bandwagon.
Former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters and other hard-core anti-Semites launched a campaign to bully singers and artists from performing in Israel. Even now, the pressure on artists not to perform in Israel is immense. When our organization, The World Values Network, published a full-page ad calling out the New Zealand singer Lorde for her bigotry in giving into the boycott and cancelling a scheduled performance in Israel, Waters got 100 top artists to sign a letter criticizing us and defending Lorde.
Such is the support for BDS in the artistic community.
Then along came Netta Barzilai.
With the unforgettable song "Toy," Netta dealt the BDS movement a catastrophic blow with her victory at Eurovision. Now, not only would artists from all over Europe be coming to Israel for the 2019 Eurovision competition, the eyes of the entire world would be watching as it took place in Tel Aviv.
Talk about a turnaround. And it all stemmed from the brave performance of one 25-year-old woman.
It made perfect sense, therefore, that Netta would become a primary target for BDS and its anti-Semitic warriors. Netta was an especially rich target because of how incredibly proud she is to be a Jewish and Israeli woman. Netta makes no apology whatsoever for being a citizen of the world's only Jewish state.
I watched Netta perform live in the United States and was overwhelmed by the verve and liveliness of her concert. I decided then and there that we had to host Netta at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Then, on Saturday night, came the news that a group of BDS activists had tried to humiliate Netta in front of all France during a live performance in which she appeared as winner of Eurovision 2018. The protesters held disgusting, openly anti-Semitic signs, which read (in French) "No to the Eurovision 2019 in Israel." BDS France took credit on Twitter for embarrassing the Israeli star, using the hashtags #DestinationApartheid and also #BoycottEurovision2019.
France 2, which broadcast the event, said following the incident: "Eurovision is above all entertainment on a unique international scale and open to great artistic diversity. Music, which has no borders, represents a universal ambition of dialogue between peoples, openness and living together."
What does that gobbledygook even mean? They should have said something like, "We are incredibly proud that reigning Eurovision champion Netta Barzilai of Israel graced us with her presence. We will brook no embarrassment of our esteemed guest and we condemn those who sought to humiliate her. Netta, we apologize profusely for this disgusting display and want to make it clear that it in no way represents French hospitality."
They didn't say that.
Which is why we in the global Jewish and pro-Israel community must rise to Netta's defense. Netta Barzilai is an Israeli hero and should be championed.
At our Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala at Carnegie Hall on March 28, we will present Netta with the Light of Israel Award. She will perform live. We will show the world how proud the Jewish community is to have a champion of her caliber and such an impressive ambassador for Israel. By doing so, we will deal another blow to the anti-Semitic BDS movement that seeks Israel's economic destruction and wants to see the Jewish people reduced to vassals.
That will never happen. We are never going back to those dark days when Jews were subservient. We demand equality, we will suffer no bigotry, we will accept no prejudice.
We are the chosen people, a light unto the nations. We have never understood this to mean any kind of superiority, just a divine responsibility to teach the world about the infinite worth of every individual, created equally in the image of the divine. The Jews were chosen to share the Ten Commandments with the world, a moral code by which we must all live and whose guiding spirit is that there are moral ethics, right and wrong, which govern human behavior.
And if there one thing we have learned is wrong, 70 years after the Holocaust, is that calling for boycotts of Jews and the economic destruction of the Jewish people is a slippery slope which leads to horrors that beggar the imagination.
Netta, we thank you and celebrate you. You have given the world Jewish community so much joy and pride.
And while New York is not Jerusalem, it has a robust and proud Jewish community that cannot wait to host you as the Jewish champion of the entire world.
