![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/250516_Alma-Bengtsson_EBU_27283.avif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nYuval Raphael from Israel performed New Day Will Rise in the Grand Final of Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. (\u00a9EBU\/Alma Bengtsson)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The EBU has until now resisted entreaties to bar Israel but now faces a crisis as Europe \u2014 both through its unified institutions and as individual countries \u2014 has sought to ramp up pressure on Israel to end the war, which began when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cRT\u00c9 feels that Ireland\u2019s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza,\u201d the Irish public broadcaster said in a statement on Thursday, adding that it was \u201cdeeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza.\u201d (The Committee to Protect Journalists says 197 journalists have been killed during the war; Israel has said some of them were Hamas operatives.)<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that the Netherlands would not participate in the competition if the European Broadcasting Union admitted Israel into the competition, where it has participated since 1973, winning four times.<\/p>\n
\u201cAVROTROS can no longer justify Israel\u2019s participation in the current situation, given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza,\u201d the broadcaster wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n
The broadcasters in Slovenia, Spain and Iceland have also all signaled that they could pull out of Eurovision if the EBU does not exclude Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we can normalize Israel\u2019s participation in international events as if nothing is happening,\u201d Ernest Urtasun, the Spanish culture minister, told La Hora de La 1. \u201cIn Eurovision\u2019s case, it is not an individual artist who participates but someone who participates on behalf of that country\u2019s citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The contest is meant to be intensely apolitical, but for many Israelis, Eurovision is seen as something of a barometer of their country\u2019s status on the international stage. Protests against the Israeli act are closely watched, and in the last two years, during the war, the artists selected to represent Israel have incorporated symbols of resilience into their wardrobes and lyrics.<\/p>\n
In announcing its boycott, AVROTROS also cited the \u201cproven evidence of interference\u201d by the Israeli government in the 2025 competition, referencing complaints by several European broadcasters who raised questions about Israel\u2019s victory in the contest\u2019s audience poll in May.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Yuval Raphael came in second after being bolstered by the popular vote and drawing points from the juries in 14 countries.<\/p>\n
The EBU had rejected pressure to exclude Israel but later opened a process to solicit feedback from the contest\u2019s 37 participating countries over how it should navigate geopolitical tensions. Martin Green, the contest\u2019s director, said in a statement on Friday that the process was ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBroadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next year\u2019s event in Vienna,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make.\u201d<\/p>\n
The director general of Icelandic broadcaster R\u00daV signaled that while so far the EBU had resisted entreaties to exclude Israel, he was hoping for change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is likely that if there is no change in EBU\u2019s position and it does not respond to these voices of concern coming from us, from Spain and Slovenia and others, then that will call for reactions from these broadcasters,\u201d he said. \u201cBut let\u2019s just wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n