Israel will not be excluded from Eurovision 2024

Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest have ruled out the idea of ​​excluding Israel from the competition, unlike what they did for Russia in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 .

With the war in Gaza, triggered by the attack of unprecedented scale launched on October 7 by Hamas, calls to ban Israel from the competition came from several countries. But the organizers of the Eurovision song contest ruled out on Thursday February 15, 2024 the idea of ​​excluding the country from the competition, contrary to what they did for Russia the day after the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022: “Comparisons between wars and conflicts are complex and difficult and, as an apolitical media organization, it is not our place to make them”Noel Curran, director general of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which brings together the broadcasters of the competition, told AFP.

“An apolitical musical event”

Noel Curran indicated that the EBU is “conscious” of the many voices raised to exclude Israel from this year’s competition, which will be represented in May by singer Eden Golan, before adding: “However, the Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political musical event and a competition between public service broadcasters that are members of the EBU. It is not a competition between governments.”

In the case of Israel, he explains, “Our governing bodies agreed that Israeli public broadcaster Kan met all competition rules for this year and could participate as it has for the past fifty years.” On the other hand, he added that “In the case of Russia, Russian broadcasters had been suspended from the EBU due to their continued failure to fulfill their membership obligations and for violating public service values.” The EBU Director General also stressed that the relationship between the Kan public broadcaster and the Israeli government is “fundamentally different” of that which exists between Russian television and Moscow, arguing that the Israeli government has “threatened in recent years to close the broadcaster”.

The October 7 attack by Hamas commandos infiltrated in southern Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,160 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.

Israel vowed in retaliation to “destroy” Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union, and launched an offensive which left more than 28,600 dead in Gaza, the vast majority civilians, according to the latest report of the Ministry of Health of the Islamist movement.