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<\/p>\nLast year’s winner, Nemo from Switzerland, has returned their trophy in protest to Israel’s inclusion. Credit: Creative Commons<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Israel’s participation has been a massive source of controversy for years, since retaliatory strikes in Gaza post-October 7th, 2023, appeared to rapidly become a catastrophic bloodletting exercise in which over 70,000 inhabitants of the strip have been killed<\/a>. Over the years, critics have accused Israel of using Eurovision to ‘artwash’<\/a> its reputation and use the phone in voting elements of the competition to score propaganda victories.<\/p>\n This was certainly something that appeared to concern the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which voted on new, stricter rules around phone-in votes after several countries complained about Israel’s abuse of the previous system. On December 4th, the EBU voted to adopt these rules, in the process nullifying a second vote<\/a> which would have seen national broadcasters decide on whether to exclude Israel from the competition.<\/p>\n Many of the countries, in particular the Netherlands, saw the decision to make the adoption of new voting rules contingent on Israel’s continued participation as procedural skullduggery by the EBU. This is all to say, Eurovision is so far from apolitical right now that it might as well be a bloc in the EU parliament.<\/p>\n Despite attempts to avoid a political label, Eurovision is often seen as indicative of a certain set of values designed to bring nations closer together, summarised in its slogan ‘United by Music’. It has also acted as a canary in the coal mine, or an informal survey of diplomatic or cultural relations between nations, with voting often following identifiable patterns of neighbouring nations and allies supporting each other. The takeaway, therefore, from boycotts is a concerning one in the wider context of Europe. It reveals fault lines that exist within Europe on the basis of a country’s stance on Israel and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.<\/p>\n Netta Barzilai was the last Israeli victor of Eurovision in 2018. Credit: Creative Commons<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Below, we will list the five nations that are boycotting the event and their stated reasons for doing so.<\/p>\n Spain has been highly critical of Israel’s participation for some time. During this year’s competition it aired a message before Israel’s semi-final performance<\/a>, reading: “The victims of the Israeli attacks in Gaza now exceed 50,000, including more than 15,000 children, according to the United Nations.”<\/p>\n While during the final it another message aired<\/a>: “In the face of human rights, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine.”<\/p>\n Spain’s public broadcaster, RTVE, which screens the contest, has made its opinion crystal clear: it would not participate in the same competition as Israel, as it believes it violates its ethical position on the war in Gaza, which Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez has officially termed a “genocide”.<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement after the December 4th decision, RTVE announced that<\/a>: “The board of directors of RTVE agreed last September that Spain would withdraw from Eurovision if Israel was part of it.”<\/p>\n “This withdrawal also means that RTVE will not broadcast the Eurovision 2026 final… nor the preliminary semi-finals.”<\/p>\n The Netherlands is a slightly different case from other boycotting nations. Its criticism of Israel is not as full-throated, and it is the only nation choosing to boycott the contest while still planning to broadcast it.<\/p>\n While it has been critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, tension between AVROTROS, the Netherlands’ public broadcaster, and the EBU began after their representative, Joost Klein, was disqualified in 2024 after a backstage fracas.<\/a><\/p>\n The Dutch see that disqualification as especially unfair in light of Israel’s abuse of the voting system, which saw it win the public vote in this year’s competition. Part of the issue stems from social media posts shared by pro-Israel accounts that informed non-viewers that they could vote up to 20 times<\/a> if they used multiple payment cards, something that was somewhat amplified by Israeli politicians and government accounts.<\/p>\n The Netherlands believes that if it suffered disqualification for a much smaller infraction, then the only fair thing is for Israel to also face a ban. Announcing its boycott<\/a>, Avrotros said that “participation under the current circumstances is incompatible with the public values \u200b\u200bthat are essential to us”.<\/p>\n A stalwart defender of Palestinian rights due to deep historical ties and sympathies, the Irish boycott may not come as much of a surprise.<\/p>\n Taoiseach Micheal Martin labelled the boycott an “act of solidarity” with Palestine<\/a>, backing public broadcaster RTE opting out of the contest.<\/p>\n RTE said<\/a> it felt that its “participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”<\/p>\n Slovenia’s position on Israel’s actions has been clear for some time, with the country making it clear that its participation in Eurovision is conditional on Israel being banned.<\/p>\n Natalija Gor\u0161\u010dak, chair of the management board of RTV, Slovenia’s public broadcaster, cited “the 20,000 children who died in Gaza” as a key factor in the decision to boycott<\/a>.<\/p>\n She added that she understood the position of Israeli broadcaster KAN, which would face a backlash from the Israeli government if it withdrew from the competition, but argued that this put “everyone in a trap. We are all hostage to the political interests of Israel’s government”.<\/p>\n Ksenija Horvat, director of the broadcaster’s television arm TV Slovenija, said<\/a> “we cannot stand on the same stage with a representative of a country that caused genocide of Palestinians in Gaza”.<\/p>\n Slovenian media have also speculated that the motivation for Israel remaining in Eurovision might be tied to Israeli company Moroccanoil being its main sponsor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The most recent nation to boycott the event, Iceland, has seen a public debate, which ultimately approved its non-participation. Songwriter Pall Oskar, a former Icelandic Eurovision competitor in 1997, called for a boycott<\/a>, a message reinforced by popstar Bj\u00f6rk.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Netta_Barzilai_-_Eurovision_2018_-_1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSpain<\/h3>\n
The Netherlands<\/h3>\n
Ireland<\/h3>\n
Slovenia<\/h3>\n
Iceland<\/h3>\n