Irish TV to air Father Ted instead of Eurovision final in protest against Israel’s inclusion

It is considered one of the funniest episodes of a beloved sitcom, but the Father Ted storyline about Eurovision has been dragged into the row over Israel’s participation in this week’s song contest. Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ, which is boycotting the competition in protest against Israel’s inclusion, will instead broadcast the 1996 episode A Song for Europe, in which the characters Father Ted and Father Dougal perform their song My Lovely Horse and earn nul points . The decision prompted condemnation on Tuesday from Graham Linehan, one of the show’s creators, who accused RTÉ of using the show as “a tool of antisemitic harassment” and said it was an “act of pointed, gleeful counter-programming”. He demanded the resignation of the broadcaster’s director-general, Kevin Bakhurst. The Irish news site Extra.ie , however, hailed the move as “genius trolling” and referred to it as “my lovely boycott”. Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland have also declined to send competitors to Austria, where singers and bands from 35 countries will compete under the motto “united by music”. Instead of the grand final, Slovenia’s broadcaster will air documentaries under the theme Voices of Palestine. Spain’s broadcaster will run a music programme called The House of Music. …