Israel’s public broadcaster rejects calls to withdraw from Eurovision

The controversy started when Ireland and the Netherlands last week announced they would boycott the Eurovision next year if Israel takes part.

By JNS

The director of Israel’s Kan public broadcaster on Monday dismissed calls for Israel to drop out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna over the country’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

“There is no reason why Israel should not continue to be a significant part of this cultural event, which must not become political,” said Kan CEO Golan Yochpaz, speaking at an event hosted by the network in the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, according to newspaper Israel Hayom.

Since the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation was founded in 2017 under the blanket branding “Kan” (which means “here” in Hebrew), “Israel has been one of the most successful participants in the Eurovision Song Contest,” Yochpaz continued.

“In the past seven years its songs and representatives have finished in fifth, third, second and first place,” he added.

The director did not confirm a Ynet report from the previous day that his network had been asked via unofficial channels to temporarily withdraw from the competition or perform under a neutral flag.

Yochpaz spoke at an event that launched Kan’s new content for this fall, according to Israel Hayom.

The European Broadcasting Union is slated to convene in mid-December to discuss Israel’s participation in May next year. Countries have until the end of this year to confirm their participation.

Eurovision Director Martin Green said on Sep. 11 that his organization understood the “concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” Reuters reported.

“We are still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest,” Green said in an email.

The controversy started when Ireland and the Netherlands last week announced they would boycott the Eurovision next year if Israel takes part.

Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ “feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza,” said RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst.

Dutch broadcaster AvroTros followed suit, citing the “high number of journalists that have died in Gaza” as its rationale, according to Reuters.

Public broadcasters of Slovenia, Spain and Iceland have reportedly indicated that they could withdraw as well if Israel’s participation goes ahead.

“I don’t think we can normalize Israel’s participation in international events as if nothing is happening,” Spain’s Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun told Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

“In Eurovision’s case, it is not an individual artist who participates but someone who participates on behalf of that country’s citizens,” he added.

The contest in Basel, Switzerland, this year and Malmö, Sweden, in 2024 were accompanied by large anti-Israel demonstrations over the war in Gaza.