And yesterday the Munich Philharmonic was uninvited from an event in Brussel, because their conductor is from Israel.
It's antisemitism, plain and simple.
For instance, nobody would ban a US pop star from an international event just because many disagree with the current policies of the US government.
Compare to the countless global conflicts we have seen in the last decades, including the reactions and overreactions and including wars and military force and ask yourself, why Israel is singled out and moreover why individual jews that are living abroad are singled out.
Apparently there are also countries demanding the opposite and saying they'll withdraw if Israel is excluded, including Germany: https://eurovisionfun.com/en/2025/09/iceland-some-countries-... (not the best source IMHO, but I did see it casually mentioned in a BBC News piece as well)
I am glad to see this news and I hope more countries join in.
Their efforts to sneak in pro-genocidal messaging through song lyrics, the buying of YouTube ads in most European countries to get as many votes as possible, and the ongoing attempts by EBU to silence all voices that are critical of their efforts to exterminate the people whose land they're occupying; it all makes me disgusted to see countries like Germany coming out with the opposite announcement of boycotting ESC if Israel won't be able to participate.
Of course, EBU will not disqualify Israel from Eurovision, and the reason is obvious for anyone who has checked the list of their sponsors.
Eurovision is that cultural thing that I hear about but I just don't get. It probably is as simple as I think it is, but it gets attention that makes me think it is more important and I must be missing something.
It is exactly as simple as you think it is, but also not, as all cultural influences on politics through history has shown. Everything from the 1936 Berlin Olympics to CIA funding Jackson Pollock (and Kooning, Rothko, etc) to Metallica playing in Moscow in 1991.
Though competing with the deluge of internet media, Eurovision probably has a lot less impact.
Meanwhile Irish President just recently met with Qatar sheikh and wished him good health and discussed cooperation and investments. Thats in full knowledge that they have orchestrated kidnapping of civilians, indiscriminate rocket bombings and other crimes.
So trading with terrorist bankers and protectors, giving them money and influence is just business as usual. While when a dozen citizen of the victim country are visiting EU it's a haram and no no. Hypocrites and terrorist friends, that's who they are.
Iceland made a similar—albeit a bit more vague—announcement, and as an Icelander and an ex-Eurovision fan, I have to say this is far too little and far too late. If this boycott would have been announced 2 years ago, I would have celebrated, and maybe it could have had an impact, but at this point a handful of countries announcing boycotts is not gonna have any meaningful impact. In my opinion the head of the respective radios need to apologies for not acting sooner, and they not only need to boycott, but actively try to prevent Eurovision from being held this next year if Israel is allowed to participate. A good start would be to sue the EBU, or to hold an alternative competition.
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[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 38.2 ms ] threadIt's antisemitism, plain and simple.
For instance, nobody would ban a US pop star from an international event just because many disagree with the current policies of the US government.
Compare to the countless global conflicts we have seen in the last decades, including the reactions and overreactions and including wars and military force and ask yourself, why Israel is singled out and moreover why individual jews that are living abroad are singled out.
Being in Europe is not one of them - Israel is not in Europe, nor a few others, and Australia is literally as far away as you can get from Europe.
Why, why is it essential?
Though competing with the deluge of internet media, Eurovision probably has a lot less impact.
So trading with terrorist bankers and protectors, giving them money and influence is just business as usual. While when a dozen citizen of the victim country are visiting EU it's a haram and no no. Hypocrites and terrorist friends, that's who they are.