Eurovision - was the jury vote impacted by politics?

Exactly ... the signs seem to be that we are heading towards a ceasefire... hopefully!

It’s positive that they are discussing this - in fact, I never thought it would have been discussed in this way. Shows the extent of concerns about what is happening in Gaza.

I had thought only way Israel would not be included in Eurovision was if Kan was defunded. There’s still a chance of this happening looking at Times of Israel.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ministerial-committee-gives-thumbs-up-to-bill-aimed-at-selling-off-kan-news-division/amp/

Maybe we will be spared the tactical voting in support of Israel when the world is thinking “war crimes?”

@ComeAsYouAreAsAFriend ”Interesting to see what they do next year”

Hopefully we’ll be months into a ceasefire and tensions would have subsided a tad, and this will be less of an issue (some hope of that though!).

Israel won the popular vote, they should be in it.

Sorry forgot to post link
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/eurovision-addresses-israel-2026-involvement-debate-discussion_uk_6867786be4b0eb2c5aed2034

Update on the Eurovision

“Members also expressed their support for the work of the Israeli public broadcaster Kan and its independence, noting the pressure it is repeatedly experiencing from the Israeli government.”
So government interference noted

According to the English-language Israeli news site Ynet, the debate on Thursday lasted around 90 minutes, with Austria, Germany and Switzerland’s broadcasters being the only ones to vocally back Israel’s participation next year.

It was also claimed that the BBC had “called to avoid a vote” on the matter, and “instead supported further dialogue”. In the end, no vote took place, although so-called EBU “sources” apparently told Ynet that “further discussions will be inevitable” if the war continues.

Interesting to see what they do next year

I think Israel encouraging the Strictly equivalent of ‘organised mass multiple voting without even watching’ (2.5 m votes in Belgium but only 1m actually watched it), just makes them appear petty.
It’s just a ludicrous music competition. Couldn’t they play fair like other countries? Evidently not.

Blimey Municipal thanks for these.
The papers are all over this, so it’s not just Mumsnet then 😀

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/eurovision/eurovision-israel-voting-system-rigged-public-vote-b2754264.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/05/19/eurovision-rigged-israel-televoting-yuval-raphael-rtve-vrt/

https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/eurovision-investigation-israel-vote-controversy-b1228736.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14729377/amp/Major-broadcasters-accuse-Eurovision-vote-rigging-Israels-controversial-performance-came-second.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14729377/Major-broadcasters-accuse-Eurovision-vote-rigging-Israels-controversial-performance-came-second.html

That’s just your opinion that Israel isn’t banned for monetary reasons. Which you’re entitled to but it isn’t a fact.

Thanks for that.
Another bit of proof that we need to stop the public vote and maybe re think why some countries are allowed to take part

No @Twiglets1
Israel aren’t banned because Eurovision is heavily funded by Israel and Morrocan oil.

The world does not support them invading Gaza and committing genocide, that’s everywhere in the news so clearly not enough to get them out of Eurovision.
The Eurovision Song Contest just need their money…..that’s it

Here's the Spotify streaming figures which give us a good indication of the organic popularity of the songs - undoubtedly the Israeli goverments avowed policy of getting the vote out was successfull - all the relevant embassies joined in the message - there was a whole pinned megathread on r/Israel on Redditt and no doubt other areas campaigning for mutiple voting. That said its a stupid competition well past it's sell by date. With blocs and campaigns to skew the vote virtually every year - hence our frequent nul points.

This current war leading to what - 52,000 Palestinian deaths is as a direct result of October 7th and the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israeli civilians.

It only takes a few people to stir up a mob, anonymously masked or on the internet. Those lovely people making throat cutting gestures at a young women who played dead under the bodies of people shot and blown apart by grenades in order to survive. Her narrative and thousands of others are drowned out and mocked by people who claim the right side of history, but whose playbook is straight from the far left. (And anyone who's survived those regimes will recognise it)

Israel created an iron dome and bomb shelters so they could live with the rocket fire from the houthis, hamas & hezbollah. Hamas built tunnels and bought weapons with aid money from the west, stole the food aid given by the west, and puts civilians in harms way to martyr them, then celebrates their martyrdom and pays blood money to their families. Martyrdom as a business model.

At the beginning of this war, open source journalists showed that images from the Syrian war were being used and claimed as Gaza, (remember Syria? Still bloodshed but it's internicene, no Jews, no news) hamas have the death and destruction they need for their narrative now.

They know they've lost their power in Gaza, now they're trying to make a deal and scamper off into hiding with their families as sinwar did after he unleashed hell on 7/10.

To quote an oft used phrase, the ‘war’ didn’t begin on October 7 though did it? It’s decades of conflict and oppression (predominantly meted out by Israel) that we’re talking about.

PM of Spain sums it up perfectly. Break international law and commit human rights violations, regardless of whether you think you’re in the right or not, you should not be allowed to compete.

You don’t have tens of thousands of people protesting about the genocide a state is accused of committing the day after Eurovision, if it was the right decision to let them in.

When it comes to Russia v Israel, the West has a massive double standard that Ukrainians themselves have pointed out.

It wasn't just a couple sadly, I was at one of the semi final shows and there were around 5 or 6 flags being waved in the seated area by masked spectators and a lot of whistles being blown all the way through her performance, and with booing so we could barely hear her.

My friend went to the evening semi final and it was the same. A guy got on to the shoulders of someone and held a flag infront of her on stage.

During the Sunday opening parade there were a bunch of protestors waiting on the bridge with flags as the trams passed. One made visible "beheading" gestures to her, and was arrested by the police. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/various/basel-authorities-clarify-threatening-gestures-against-israel-at-the-esc/89304888

On the evening of the final there was a large illegal protest in the centre of thr city, disrupting a few of the organised free viewing events and stopping public transport for a while as the police dealt with it.

He's also had to apologise to the families of serving and deceased soldiers.

Yes I do actually. So what if he is the opposition, he's not going to make such a serious claim just to make the opposition look bad. Unless I suppose he's also an anti-semite.

Well he’s the opposition so he kind of wants his political rivals to look bad doesn’t he?

it’s not rocket science is it?

Do you think you prove something with that article?

Yeah, just killing children as a hobby according to this Israeli minister.

Yair Golan, head of the opposition Democrats, issues a scathing denouncement of the government and the war in Gaza, saying that Israel was killing children in Gaza “as a hobby.

Some people however, will still try to maintain it is still all just self defence.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/golan-israel-becoming-a-pariah-state-is-killing-children-as-a-hobby/

Inbred antisemitism. Good grief. All I can say is that I hope to be proved wrong and to be the “fool” in all of this. And, no I was talking about Israel smearing NGOs. I tend not to watch the home made videos coming out of Gaza, they aren’t verified.

So are you saying Israel faked that video to smear the Gazans who quite obviously took it themselves? What a load of nonsense!

There are some people whose hatred of Israel is so strong, which can only be due to inbred antisemitism, that they will refuse to see the truth even if it’s staring them right in the face, making themselves look like absolute fools in the process.

Still can’t spell Israel correctly then?

@WhatMothersDo22 allow me to explain: Russia are banned because they started an unprovoked war (much like Hamas).

Israel are not banned because they didn’t start the war.

Moves to disband the Eurovision? Where did you read this?

Maybe you have mixed it up with the complaints about the televoting rules or the moves the Israeli government are making to privatise Kan?

www.timesofisrael.com/european-broadcasting-union-warns-privatizing-kan-could-undermine-israels-democracy/amp/