Sir, – We Palestinian singers, songwriters, dancers, musicians and other artists urge all Eurovision 2019 finalists to withdraw from the contest, to avoid participating in Israel’s explicit agenda of using international artists’ appearances to whitewash its crimes against humanity.

The Tel Aviv convention centre hosting Eurovision is built atop the ethnically cleansed Palestinian village of al-Shaykh Muwannis. “Eurovision Village”, where fans will celebrate, is located in a park built on top of Manshiya, another of the more than 500 Palestinian localities destroyed and emptied of Palestinians to make way for apartheid Israel.

Just along the coast from Tel Aviv is the besieged Gaza Strip, where Israel has caged two million of us. Most in Gaza are refugees from previous Israeli aggression, and most are children.

Almost no-one and nothing can enter or leave. Israeli snipers, tanks and aircraft killed more than 200 Palestinians here last year, including children, and maimed thousands more.

As Palestinian artists – brutalised, besieged, occupied and exiled – we cannot offer the glitz and glamour of Eurovision. We can offer something much bigger: a place in the history books.

We will never forget Irish store worker Mary Manning and her colleagues, who in 1984 refused to handle apartheid South African produce. Their selfless actions led directly to Ireland banning South African goods.

Shortly after Nelson Mandela was freed, he met those brave workers, saying their stand had inspired him. When years later he died, they were invited to his funeral.

The contestants’ history is not yet written. We encourage them to write it. – Yours, etc,

TAREQ ABBOUSHI,

(musician, composer),

DYALA ABDALLAH,

(dancer),

FATHI ABDELRAHMAN,

(theatre director),

SAMA ABDULHADI,

(DJ, producer),

WALEED ABDULSALAM,

(musician, singer, actor),

KHALID ABU AL SABER, dancer, actor

RAYAN ABU DAYEH, dancer

KHALID ABU ERAM, dancer

TAMER ABU GHAZALEH, singer, composer

MIRA ABU HILAL, singer

YOUMNA ABU HILAL, singer

LAMA ABU HILAL, singer

AHMAD ABU RAHMEH, dancer

ABAD ABU SWAI, singer

MOHAMMAD ABU TALIB, circus performer

ALAA ABULRUB, circus performer

RAMZI ABUREDWAN, musician, composer

SHAHD ABUSALAMA, dancer

MURAD AL ASHHAB, dancer

MANAR AL AZZA, dancer

KAMAL ALJAFARI, filmmaker

RAED ANDONI, filmmaker

ÉMILE ANDRE SABA, theatre actor, director

YOUSEF AREF SBEIH, dancer

NADIA AROURI, dancer

MAHMOUD AWAD, musician, singer

MANAL AWAD, actor

HAZAR AZZEH, circus performer

MOHAMMAD AZZEH, circus performer

NIDAL BADARNEH, actor, director

MOHAMMAD BAKRI, actor, director

SALEH BAKRI, actor

ZIAD BAKRI, actor, filmmaker

NAI BARGHOUTI, singer

NABIL BEY, musician, singer, songwriter

SAMER BISHARA-SHAHOUK, musician

ASHRAF DABBAH, musician

CHERIEN DABIS, filmmaker

SHARAF DARZAID, dancer, choreographer

HAIDAR EID, musician, author

MOHAMMAD EID, actor

SAMIR ESKANDA, musician

BAKER EWISS, dancer

MOHAMMAD FARAKHNA, dancer

IBRAHEM FENO, dancer, choreographer

MAHDI FLEIFEL, film director

THAER FUAD, dancer

MUTASIM GHAITH, circus performer

YASMIN HADI, dancer

HENA HAJ HASAN, singer

JACOB HAMMODEH, musician, composer

EHAB HANIYAH, musician

DIA HARB, actor

AMMAR HASSAN, singer

MIDHAT HUSSEINI, musician

RIHAM ISAAC, actor, director

LEEN ISSA, dancer

YAZAN IWIDAT, dancer, choreographer

ANNEMARIE JACIR, filmmaker, poet

AYHAM JALAL, musician

SAMER JARADAT, musician, producer

SALWA JARADAT, singer

NIVIN JAYUSI, singer, musician

AHMAD JOUBEH, circus performer

SAMIR JOUBRAN, musician

KAMILYA JUBRAN, singer, songwriter, musician

REMI KANAZI, poet

SAMER KARAJA, dancer, choreographer

MAJDOLEEN KARAKRA, dancer

MUTAZ KAWASMI, dancer, photographer

REEM KELANI, singer, musician

HANNAH KHALIL, playwright

ATA KHATAB, dancer, choreographer

NADIA KHATAB, dancer

FIRAS KHOURY, actor

RAED KOBARI, musician

RAMZI MAQDISI, actor, filmmaker

AHMED MASOUD, author, playwright

GEORGE MATAR, dancer, choreographer

JENIN MERRI, dancer

SANAA MOUSSA, singer

EDWARD MU’ALIM, actor

SALEEM NABALI, actor, dancer

GHASSAN NADDAF, playwright

TAMER NAFAR, rapper, actor

IBRAHIM NAJM, musician

IBRAHIM NASRALLAH, poet, novelist, painter

TAMER NASSAR, musician

MAI ODEH, filmmaker, producer

HAFEZ OMAR, graphic designer

IMAN OUN, actor, director

MOHAMMAD QUTATI, musician

YASSAR S’ADAT, musician

GANDHI SAAD, musician

JOWAN SAFADI, musician

MOHAMMAD SAFADI, dancer

AHMAD SAJADEHE, dancer

FARAH SALEH, dancer, choreographer

KAREEM SAMARA, musician

NIVEEN SAWI, singer

YASMIN SAMEER SHALADAH, actor

AMER SHOMALI, filmmaker, visual artist

TEREZ SLIMAN, singer, songwriter

YANAL STAITI, musician

LOAI TAFESH, dancer, choreographer

HANNA TAMS, dancer, choreographer

ISSAM TURKI, circus performer

RENAD URI, dancer

AMER ZAHR, comedian, writer

ZEINA ZAROUR, theatre director

RAFEEF ZIADAH, poet

SHADI ZOMORROD, circus school founder