“We received a lot of protests from Eurovision fans who said we shouldn’t be on the stage together with Israel,” Natalija Gorščak, president of the management board of the Slovenian broadcaster RTV, tells me. “Our ethical stand as a public service broadcaster should be to fight for peace.”
Iceland’s broadcaster RÚV, ahead of announcing its boycott, said it had “serious doubts about the conduct of both the Israeli public broadcaster and the Israeli government” when it came to competition rules. The Dutch broadcaster Avrotros cited “political interference” in the 2025 contest and said its participation would go against “public values that are fundamental to our organisation.”
It could be argued the five boycotting broadcasters are themselves using the contest for political purposes to send a message directly to the Israeli government. Two are now on record questioning Ukraine’s future too, and officials from participating broadcasters across the continent are privately saying similar things.
Broadcasters and artists participating in this year’s show are prevented from speaking publicly about anything which could bring the contest into disrepute.
Yuval Raphael was chosen to represent Israel having survived the Nova music festival when it was attacked by Hamas gunmen during the 7 October attack on Israel. She hid under a pile of bodies for hours before being rescued and performed with shrapnel from the attack still inside her leg. The EBU confirmed the artist met all entry requirements including being non-political.
“The song was not directly political, but it was symbolic, and the performer was symbolic,” Gorščak believes. “We still think it was political, even if by the rules of the EBU it was not political.”