Eurovision 2026 has barely begun, and Israel is already being treated as the scandal.
Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Slovenia have dropped out over Israel’s participation, turning a contest branded as “United By Music” into another stage for anti-Israel politics. Finland’s delegation reportedly blocked interviews with both Austria’s ORF, for hosting, and Israel’s Kan, for being Israeli.
This comes after last year’s public vote, when Israel finished second, and critics immediately decided the result must be suspicious. The supposed “evidence” was that Israel encouraged people to vote, as if national promotion were not the entire point of Eurovision.
The New York Times has now revived the controversy, framing Israel’s participation as a “soft power” campaign and scrutinizing whether its vote drive violated rules or affected the outcome. But every country uses Eurovision to promote its culture, artists, tourism, and national image. Campaigning for votes is not cheating. It is how the competition works.
The implication behind the outrage is obvious: Israel could not have earned support organically. It must have manipulated the system.
But the European Broadcasting Union had last year’s results independently verified, and no wrongdoing was found. Viewers still had to choose Israel themselves and pay to cast those votes.
Israel did not break Eurovision. It did not invent national promotion. Some people are just angry that, despite the boycotts and headlines, voters still refused to play along with the anti-Israel script.
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