Israel's participation in Eurovision

Eurovision held its 70th edition this year, between 12 and 16 of May 2026, with a total of 35 participating countries. Among them, Israel also participated, which caused the withdrawal of several states —Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain and The Netherlands— as a way to protest against the genocide in Gaza and Israel's direct involvement.

The genocide has not stopped and it is still taking place as we speak. It is hurting communities, families and individuals. It has been heavily covered in the media over the past few months, but the attention has recently quieted down due to perceived irrelevance. The media works in unpleasant ways which is why we need to speak up from time to time because people are still hurting. If you want and can keep up, please visit Al Jazeera, as they post daily updates regarding this matter.

I brought this up because it is very different from what happened in 2022, at the 66th edition of Eurovision, the same year in which the invasion of Ukraine began. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th of February 2022 and was disqualified just a day after, on 25th of February. The invasion is still ongoing; some people managed to leave the country, some did not.

This is not about Israel's participation and neither about the Israeli contestants, they are not to blame. It is about the inconsistency of the contest itslef. In 2022, Russia was disqualified within 24 hours of invading Ukraine. In 2026, Israel participated despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while the organizers insisted that the contest is apolitical. This is selective, inconsistent, and ultimately harmful.

It is impossible for music, for Eurovision — which was created to bring Europe together— to be apolitical. Eurovision itself is the result of a political conflict: it was designed to unite countries and people through culture after being torn apart by war. Ignoring this history does not make the contest neutral; it only makes its decisions harder to justify.

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Thank you for reading. This came a little later than I would have wished, but I had this in mind for quite a while. I selected my information from Al Jazeera, Wikipedia, BBC News and Professor Helen Julia Minors' article on Eurovision's voting changes, which I recommend. Stay safe and well-informed.