Israel’s future in Eurovision to be decided in controversial vote within days

Eurovision has previously excluded participating unions from the competition, including that of Bulgaria over financial disputes and Belarus after a breach of non-politicisation rules. The most recent exclusion was that of Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine after several other national unions threatened to withdraw altogether if a Russian entrant was permitted to compete.

Some critics of Israel pointed to the Russian ban as a precedent for a prohibition on its participation, but organisers suggested that the decision was more to do with the lack of political independence of the Russian broadcaster than its government’s actions in Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the EBU said Russian network VGTRK was suspended due to “consistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service media values”, while Israel’s Kan broadcaster is fully independent of the government in Jerusalem.

Responding to a request for comment from the JC earlier this year, a BBC spokesperson said: "At this stage, we will continue to be part of the discussions, led by the European Broadcasting Union, with other members and broadcasters.

“Eurovision has never been led by politics, it has been – and is – a celebration of music and culture that brings people together from across the world.”

And, speaking on GB News earlier this year, Bucks Fizz singer Jay Aston said: “It is a shame, because Eurovision is meant to be about building bridges and bringing huge amounts of people together to celebrate music and vote.”

It appears to be a sentiment shared by seasoned Eurovision experts, with some fearing the conflict could even tear the competition apart. 

Dean Vuletic, a Croatian-Australian historian of contemporary Europe, who specialises in Eurovision, told The Telegraph: “It is the most severe crisis in the history of the contest… Never before have we seen so much division over a political issue in Eurovision.”

Paul Jordan, who is known as "Dr Eurovision" and has a PhD in the subject, agreed, telling Sky News: "It's become so toxic.

“Eurovision for me was all about escapism, they call it the Eurovision bubble. And that was a very special thing. And I feel now that's kind of changing.

"It feels like an event that we all grew up with, now at 70 years old, and it could potentially start to unravel. It'd be a great shame, I think, culturally, if that does happen."