Iceland says Israel should only be allowed to compete at Eurovision under a ‘neutral flag’

The president of Iceland’s national broadcaster says Israel should only be allowed to participate in next year’s Eurovision under a “neutral flag,” similar to Olympic athletes from Russia and Belarus.

Stefán Jón Hafstein makes the comments ahead of a meeting later this week in London of European Broadcasting Union member states to discuss next year’s competition. He says that Iceland will support any bid to kick Israel out of the competition, but would agree to a compromise that would see an Israeli artist compete without representing the country.

The EBU has promised to address complaints about this year’s contest from some countries, which have expressed outrage over Israel’s participation and also made allegations about voting irregularities. Iceland, Spain, Slovenia, and Belgium are among the EBU members who have called to bar Israel from the competition.

Some of the country’s public broadcasters may also face rebukes or fines over anti-Israel broadcasts or commentary during the Eurovision broadcast this year, which violates EBU rules.

Meanwhile, some Israeli government officials are pursuing legislation that would shut down Israel’s public broadcaster, which would render the debate moot, as Israel would no longer qualify to compete at the Eurovision.