Arriving in Israel for a promotional event for Eurovision, Ukrainian representatives called on the public on Monday to mobilize so that “this war does not take place in other countries”.
The leader of the group representing Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest called on the world’s population on Tuesday to demonstrate against the Russian invasion of his country during his first foreign tour, to Israel, since the start of the war.
“Our message is this: everyone who listens to us, who knows the situation in Ukraine, can help us even if it does not solve these problems,” said Oleh Psyuk of hip-hop group Kalush Orchestra, calling on netizens to mobilizing on social media to share information about the conflict.
“If everyone does this, this war will end very soon (…) And if every day you do something to end the war, this war will not take place in other countries”, a- he asserted.
Psyuk and the five other members of the Kalush Orchestra are among the 24 artists and groups that will take part in the Eurovision Song Contest which will take place from May 10 in the Italian city of Turin. They are currently in Israel as part of a four-day promotional event featuring a host of Eurovision 2022 contestants.
Special authorization to travel
The hip-hop group with millions of YouTube views landed in Israel on Monday for the event dubbed “Israel Calling”, said the Jewish Agency, a parastatal body primarily responsible for Jewish immigration and facilitating their arrival. arrived in Israel.
The members of Kalush Orchestra had to obtain special permission to leave Ukraine, and this visit to Israel was the first opportunity for them since the Russian invasion on February 24 to be able to play their hit together Stefaniaafter weeks of rehearsals without seeing each other, said Oleh Psyuk.
Because they have been separated in recent weeks by their various commitments to resist the Russian invasion. In an interview given to Reuters in March, Oleh Psyuk explained that he had set up a group of volunteers who come to the aid of victims of the conflict, while another member had joined a territorial defense unit.
“It’s like therapy”
At the headquarters of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, Kalush Orchestra notably performed two songs for dozens of young Ukrainian refugees who had recently arrived in Israel, a country which has more than one million citizens from the former USSR and has welcomed nearly of 20,000 Ukrainians since the start of the Russian invasion.
“It’s like therapy, and everyone will see as well as the Ukrainian people, it’s not just tragedies,” said Anastasia Yeremenko, 19, a Ukrainian Jew who immigrated to Israel. “We are brave, we smile, we love each other, we love this world and we don’t want war,” she added.
For Sonya Yevgenieva, 18, who also recently immigrated to Israel, the arrival of Kalush Orchestra was also a balm. “We all really love their music, and when I texted my friend from Kyiv to tell him I was going to meet them, he was impressed,” she said.