Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that, after previously cancelling the Eurovision screening as a “boycott” of Israeli finalist Eden Golan, 3 Dollar Bill has decided to “move forward with the Eurovision viewing party this Saturday as a free event for anyone who wishes to attend.”
(New York Jewish Week) – A popular queer nightclub in Bushwick canceled its screening of Saturday’s Eurovision song competition after Israel’s Eden Golan advanced to the finals.
But on Friday afternoon, following an outcry on social media accusing the venue of antisemitism, it changed tacks and decided move ahead with the event.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Brooklyn’s 3 Dollar Bill, which claims to be the largest LGBTQ-owned nightclub in New York City, called the decision to cancel part of a “boycott.”
“We hear you. We’re listening to what you’re saying and recognize that hosting the Eurovision event does not align with our values here at 3DB. We understand the concerns raised by our community regarding the need for boycott. We apologize sincerely for anyone we’ve let down and will strive to do better for our community moving forward,” the Instagram post read.
“The club also added a hashtag invoking the Holocaust remembrance phrase “Never Again,” saying, “#NeverAgainForAnyone.”
A few hours after the New York Jewish Week published a piece about the event’s cancellation on Friday afternoon, 3 Dollar Bill posted a new Instagram story — and updated an original event-promotion post — saying the event is back on.
“At 3 Dollar Bill, our core mission has always been to provide a safe, welcoming space for our LGBTQ community,” the new post reads. “A space where everyone can feel welcome and come together over their shared love of music, dancing and chosen family. Therefore, it’s in keeping with our mission that we’ve decided to move forward with the Eurovision viewing party this Saturday as a free event for anyone who wishes to attend.”
The New York Jewish Week was unable to reach the nightclub for comment about the reinstated event. 3 Dollar Bill has disabled comments on the post.
“We believe in the power of unity and the importance of being a haven for all,” the updated original post states. “Eurovision is a celebration of talent and diversity, not a platform for politics. We are dedicated to bringing people together to enjoy the talent from across the globe and remain committed to ensuring our venue is a space where everyone can feel included and safe.”
The post continues: “We have never condoned hatred, violence or discrimination of any kind and realize that this wasn’t reflected on our previous post and are deeply sorry for disappointing and hurting you with our actions.”
Golan’s appearance has drawn protests in this year’s Eurovision host city — Malmö, Sweden — from demonstrators who want to ostracize Israel for its conduct in the war in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7. In the Swedish port city, thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors have flooded the streets to protest the competition, whose theme this year is “United By Music.”
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Eden Golan from Israel performs the song “Hurricane” on the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest during rehearsals for the second semifinal in the Malmö Arena, May 8, 2024. (Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Brooklyn nightclub was promoting the viewing party as early as April, weeks before the competition started and Golan advanced. It originally planned to donate the proceeds of ticket sales to “victims of war.”
When 3 Dollar Bill advertised its Eurovision event on Instagram on Thursday, May 9, the post received 250 comments insisting the club boycott the competition over its inclusion of an Israeli singer. Later in the day, when the club posted a new announcement canceling the event, it received thousands of comments, many of which accused the club of antisemitism and expressed disappointment.
3 Dollar Bill disabled comments on the post, which was removed sometime Friday morning.
The outdoor space of 3 Dollar Bill in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Sept. 12, 2023. (Julia Gergely)
The uproar over the cancellation is the latest example of turmoil in progressive spaces over the Israel-Hamas war. Earlier this year, a cidery and bar in Salt Lake City banned “all Zionists forever” in protest of the war in Gaza. Last month in Philadelphia, a movie theater tried to call off the screening of a film that was part of a local Israeli film festival. In London, several queer nightclubs have also canceled screenings of Eurovision as a form of boycott, including Roast and Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
3 Dollar Bill’s cancellation announcement went viral Thursday night after Rep. Ritchie Torres, the pro-Israel New York Democrat, posted about it on his social media.
“A NYC bar cancelled a viewing of Eurovision because it features an Israeli, Eden Golan (20). Golan is being boycotted not because of what she did but because of who she is,” Torres wrote. “There’s a word for this: antisemitism.”
Opened in 2018, 3 Dollar Bill is owned by Brenda Breathnach, who moved to New York in 1994 from Ireland. On its website, the 10,000-square-foot club describes itself as “a space that represents our commitment to inclusion and the celebration of queer identity,” “a space for joy” and a “unique outlet that will allow everyone to express themselves as their fullest, most genuine, selves.”
The club has evidently played Israeli music — specifically, the country’s Eurovision music — in the past. In the opening anecdote of a 2019 New York Times profile of the club, a drag queen performs to Netta Barzilai’s “Toy,” which won Eurovision for Israel in 2018. In 2023, the club hosted “The Mazals,” the annual gala for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, which has increasingly organized and participated in pro-Palestinian ceasefire protests and events since Oct. 7.
Bookmakers are expecting that Golan, 20, who is performing her song “Hurricane,”will place second tomorrow in the finals. She’ll compete against Croatia’s heavily favored Baby Lasagna, who sings “Rim Tim Tagi Dim.”
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