Dozens of former Eurovision contestants call for barring Israel from this year’s competition

Dozens of former Eurovision contestants sign on to a letter demanding that the European Broadcasting Union bar Israel from taking part in this year’s competition in Basel, Switzerland, citing the war against Hamas in Gaza.

The signatories accuse the Kan public broadcaster, an EBU member, of being “complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people.”

The letter points to the exclusion of Russia from the competition after its invasion of Ukraine, claiming a “double standard” and asserting that the EBU’s decision to allow Israel to take part last year led to “the most politicized, chaotic and unpleasant [contest] in the competition’s history.”

The EBU has consistently defended Israel’s right to participate, noting that Russia was excluded after its public broadcaster violated the organization’s guidelines and its independence as a public broadcaster.

The letter is signed by more than 70 former competitors, including songwriters and backup vocalists and dancers. Notable names include Salvador Sobral of Portugal, who won the 2017 contest, British singer Mae Muller, who competed in 2023 and the band Gate, which represented Norway last year.

Israel’s Eden Golan faced intense protests and booing at last year’s competition in Malmo, Sweden, with high security largely confining her to her hotel room throughout the contest. This year, the EBU has unveiled a strict new code of conduct, barring contestants from any public political comments as well as from bullying or harassment of other competitors.

Israel’s Yuval Raphael, who is slated to compete in the second semifinal next Thursday with her song “New Day Will Rise,” held her first rehearsal in Basel today.