Eurovision’s Breaking Point: Israel
Yuval Raphael, Israeli 2025 Eurovision Participant, October 7th Survivor.
Photographer: Quejaytee, https://www.quejaytee.com/
The Eurovision Song Contest has been a cultural staple throughout democratic Europe for decades. First airing in 1956 with just 7 nations, it has since expanded to over 50 countries who have competed at least once. This includes every UN recognized country in Europe (besides Liechtenstein and Vatican City), as well as non-European nations like Morocco, Australia, and most pertinently, Israel. Israel first started competing in 1973, and has won the competition 4 times, most recently in 2018. Though Israel’s participation has attracted mild backlash on occasion, it generally had been accepted as a competitor and welcomed into the competition. However, this all changed when the Israel-Hamas War started.
The Eurovision Song Contest consistently airs in May, and by the time the 2024 competition rolled around in Stockholm, the backlash against Israeli participation had grown incredibly. The Dutch participant was disqualified just hours before the final in an alleged ‘incident’ with the Israeli delegation. This sparked massive backlash from Eurovision fans, as various outspoken participants such as Ireland’s Bambie Thug reported harassment and intimidation throughout rehearsals and competition week from the Israeli delegation and media. Despite backlash, Israel ultimately placed 5th, with much of that being credited to a coordinated media and political campaign by Israeli media and many right-wing European politicians to vote for Israel, as half of the votes in the competition are made from the European public, whilst the other half from national juries, which placed Israel much lower than the public.
Some reforms were made between the 2024 and 2025 contests; however, Israel’s presence only drew more criticism as the war in Gaza raged on with accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing mounting against Israel. In both the 2024 and 2025 contests, Israel sent songs that were vaguely referencing the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Israel’s original song for 2024, titled ‘October Rain’ was disqualified by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest, for being too political—something strictly forbidden in Eurovision. In the 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland, Israel achieved an even better result, placing 2nd, losing only to Austria. This result was again driven by massive support in the public vote while coming 14th out of 26 in the national jury rankings.
Following the most recent edition of the contest, many national broadcasters, which fund their respective country’s song and broadcasting fees, have made various calls on the EBU to provide transparency on the public vote. As those calls went unanswered, a myriad of countries have since threatened or confirmed their non-participation in the upcoming 2026 contest. National Broadcasters from Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Spain have all indicated that if Israel is in, they are out. The addition of Spain to this list is especially relevant, as it is a part of the ‘Big 5’ group along with the UK, France, Italy, and Germany. These 5 countries provide a substantial amount of funding for the competition, and are granted an automatic spot in the Eurovision Grand Final. The withdrawal of Spain and three other countries could leave the EBU struggling to fund the competition. In addition to those who have already confirmed their non-participation, national broadcasters from Iceland, Finland, and Belgium have all expressed varying degrees of uncertainty when it comes to their participation. Though some countries, like Germany, have expressed their support for Israel’s participation, calls from Eurovision fans and the European public alike have made Israeli support increasingly unpopular.
There is precedent for banning countries from the Eurovision Song Contest and other EBU-related events. Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the EBU suspended Russian membership. In 2021, Belarus’ EBU membership was also suspended for various political reasons. However, the EBU maintains that Eurovision is still a ‘non-political music event’ and that it is ‘not a competition between governments’. Many critics and Eurovision fans alike claim a massive hypocrisy when it comes to the treatment of Russia versus Israel, as within weeks of the Ukrainian invasion, Russia was banned from Eurovision, while a war that has since been called a genocide by many European leaders has not led to any accountability for Israel. This public outrage was further fueled by reports that have emerged that the EBU has recently requested Israel to compete without a flag or fully withdraw from the competition, though the EBU publicly denies this request has been made. As pressure continues to mount from the public, and as various international and national organizations designate Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide, the future of the Eurovision Song Contest with Israeli participation is looking increasingly bleak, as public perceptions of the nation continue to deteriorate.