Israel to Participate in Eurovision: Four Countries Announce Boycott

Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain have announced a boycott of next year’s Eurovision contest due to Israel’s participation. The decision came after the EBU stated it would not remove Israel from the competition. Some countries had called for Israel’s exclusion, but the EBU did not support this proposal, according to aljazeera.

The boycotting countries criticize Israel over its war in Gaza, which has claimed at least 70,000 lives. Additionally, Israel is accused of unfairly influencing last year’s contest in favor of its representative. The Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain stated they would not participate for these reasons.

Germany, on the other hand, expressed support for Israel’s participation and announced it would send its own representative. Israeli President Isaac Herzog emphasized that his country deserves representation on the global stage.