(JTA) — A group of anti-Israel protesters jumped on stage during a Eurovision qualifying competition in Paris.
Israeli Eurovision 2018 winner Netta Barzilai was on stage Saturday night when the protesters appeared holding signs reading “No to the Eurovision 2019 in Israel.” Barzilai had just finished performing her Eurovision-winning entry “Toy” for the live broadcast.
BDS France took credit for the incident, using the hashtags “#DestinationApartheid” and “#BoycottEurovision2019″ in a Twitter post showing a video of their interruption.
The protesters were immediately removed from the stage by security officials.
“Five people who came to spread darkness and not to talk about music and love, couldn’t ruin an evening like this,” Barzilai said in a statement.
Musicians and other artists from at least 14 countries have called for a boycott of Eurovision because it is being held in Israel.
