A Vienna cafe offers refuge for Israel supporters as tensions brew at Eurovision |
VIENNA, Austria — Vienna’s famed coffeehouses have embraced the Eurovision Song Contest. They have also been touched by tensions over objections to Israel’s inclusion in the sequin-drenched pop music competition.
When officials announced a list of “Eurofan Cafes” — Vienna coffee shops offering food and music from competing countries — Israel was initially left out.
MQ Kantine, a modern café in the city’s arty museums quarter, offered to step in. Now it has falafel, bagels with lox, and kosher wine on the menu, a string of small Israeli flags hanging from the ceiling — and a police officer outside the door.
Security is tight across Vienna during the international music contest, whose “United by Music” slogan rings slightly hollow this year. Five countries have boycotted the contest because Israel is taking part. Pro-Palestinian activists are planning a protest concert — one of several Eurovision alternatives across Europe — and an anti-Israel march before Saturday’s grand final.
At MQ Kantine, volunteers take turns to monitor for potential trouble. But so far the mood has been supportive, said Daniel Kapp, a PR consultant and pro-Israel campaigner.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, as people drank coffee and beer on the café terrace in the spring sunshine, although he noted that the police officer on duty was a sign that all is “not entirely normal.”
“My feeling is that Austria, to a certain degree, has learned from its history,” Kapp said, referring to the deadly antisemitism under the Nazis before and during World War II. “Which is why the support for Israel is a lot more normal than it is in other countries.”
Israel has competed in Eurovision for more than 50 years, winning four times. But its........