Free Republic

Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands announced their withdrawals Thursday from next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after organizers decided that Israel will be allowed to compete. Organizers of the pop music spectacle, which draws millions of viewers globally, met earlier Thursday to discuss Israel’s participation, amid calls for the country to be excluded over the war in Gaza and threats from some members to boycott. An independent United Nations inquiry concluded in September that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and that the country’s top leaders have incited genocide. The Israeli government has maintained it is conducting the...

More than 50 consultants at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) have called on the State to stop using medicines manufactured by an Israeli company where “viable alternatives” are available. Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli multinational, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of generic and specialist drugs. The company, which makes Sudocrem, has a big presence in Ireland and is one of the largest suppliers of generic medicines to the HSE. Teva said any boycott of its medicine could “impose a risk on the health and wellbeing” of patients. …