SBS has refused to bow to demands from protesters to boycott Eurovision in Israel next year and has threatened to sue them for appropriating the broadcaster’s branding.

Israel won the Eurovision song contest with pop star Netta Barzilai’s quirky entry Toy, which means it will host next year’s finals, expected to take place in Tel Aviv.

“Thank you so much. I love my country,” Barzilai said when she held her trophy after her win.

A pro-Palestinian activist group, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Australia, has joined protesters and artists worldwide in calling for a boycott of the event.

It used a red leaflet featuring the SBS name and logo to promote its cause. It said: “Boycott Eurovision 2019; Don’t Celebrate Israel’s Apartheid Crimes”.

SBS sent a legal letter saying they must “immediately remove SBS’s trademark from any of your websites, social media pages and any other marketing and promotional material”.

“As is common practice for organisations managing and protecting their brand, SBS is in contact with this organisation about their unauthorised use of the SBS logo,” a spokeswoman told Guardian Australia.

The legal dispute remains unresolved.

BDS Australia has petitioned SBS not to broadcast Eurovision 2019 because of what they say is “Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians and the theft of their lands and the discrimination they face inside Israel”. The petition has 2,000 signatures.

“We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian musicians and artists who have launched a campaign to boycott Eurovision 2019. Eurovision should not be used to ‘artwash’ the Israeli government’s apartheid policies and the violence inflicted on Palestinian people. Eurovision’s good reputation will be forever tarnished by its association with the Israeli government.”

But SBS has rejected the plea.

“SBS respects and supports the right for people to express their views,” a spokeswoman told Guardian Australia.

“SBS has been broadcasting Eurovision for 35 years and will continue to do so because of the spirit of the event in bringing people and cultures together in a celebration of diversity and inclusion through music.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff condemned the boycott and praised SBS for its “principled position”.

“Israel is a robust liberal democracy which respects the civil liberties of all its citizens. To single out the world’s only Jewish state for boycott is rank hypocrisy and we applaud SBS for its strong and principled position on this issue,” he told Guardian Australia.

“The efforts to pressure it to boycott Eurovision threatens communal harmony and seeks to undermine an event which brings joy to millions. Eurovision is about music; let’s keep politics out of it.”

Leading Australian actor Colin Friels is one of the artists who has signed the petition: “Given the siege of Gaza and the slaughter of Palestinians, the televising of the Eurovision song contest must not be allowed to ‘artwash’ Israeli brutalities. I strongly support the boycott of this event and urge others to do the same.”



