In their first press conference since arriving in Tel Aviv for Eurovision, anarcho-transhumanist technosynth provocateurs Hatari spoke frankly about the aims of their visit.
Hatari departed for Tel Aviv last Friday to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. Their participation has come under a cloud of controversy for their stated intent to use their participation as a platform to voice support for the Palestinian cause.
At their first press conference since arriving, RÚV reports, they fielded questions from reporters, and things got heated quickly.
A reporter from Keshet 12 asked the band if they still intended to make a political statement, and whether this statement would also touch upon “the rockets in the south”, referring to the Qassam rockets that have been fired upon southern Israel since last Friday, which prompted shelling and airstrikes upon Gaza from the Israeli military, killing 23 Palestinians.
To this, Hatari member Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson responded: “The comment I think you’re referring to is one we gave in Icelandic media. What we said was we would use out agenda-setting influence that comes through participation, or that really comes through any spectacle that catches the public eye. Through this agenda-setting influence we would try to uphold a critical discussion around the context in which this contest is being held. And that is what we’ve tried to do in our conversations with various media and will continue doing. In regards to what happens on the stage itself, we are determined to take part in the contest and comply with the rules, just like everyone else.”
The reporter pressed the band for comment on the situation in the south, but the moderator of the press conference began to insist that there was no more time for further questions. Regardless, Matthías offered an addendum, saying, “Well we of course hope to see an end to the occupation as soon as possible and that peace will come. We are hopeful.”
An extensive feature interview with Hatari, taken just before they departed for Eurovision and covering multiple facets of the aims and implications of their participation, will appear in the next issue of the Grapevine.
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