Peace, Love, and Propaganda: Why Israel’s Inclusion in Eurovision matters.

By Aimee Strain

With 166 million people tuning in for the 2025 edition – more than the Super Bowl – the viral reach of the Eurovision Song Contest has never been more evident [1][2]. I can remember being allowed to stay up extra late on a Saturday when the final was on, a yearly tradition that I know is shared with many other people my age. Founded in 1956, Eurovision has been heralded as an annual event that celebrates diversity, unity, and peace; however, as geopolitical relations sour, so too does the contest’s reputation. In recent years, Eurovision has been tainted by the lack of action taken concerning the handling of Israel in the contest and the silencing of opposing voices.

A “Non-Political” Event / Suppression and Oppression

In 2024, the Eurovision Broadcasting Union revised their flag policy, explicitly banning the flag of Palestine from being shown or brought into the arena. This has precedence: in 2019, Icelandic broadcaster RÚV was fined € 5,000 when its representative held a Palestinian flag during voting at the contest held in Tel Aviv [3]. This policy was further amended for the 2025 contest; the audience was free to bring any flag that was legal under the law of the host country, but participants were forbidden to hold any flag other than their nation’s flag [4].

Perhaps the most egregious act of all was the suppression of Palestinian culture with the excuse of being “non-political,” and this was clear in 2024. When Swedish-Palestinian singer Eric Saade wore a keffiyeh on his wrist during his performance, the EBU refused to post his performance on their online platforms, unlike with every other contestant. Similarly, Portuguese contestant Iolanda had a traditional Palestinian design on her nails in the finals, which led to her semi-final performance being broadcast on social media instead [5]. Her original performance was only reinstated after the voting concluded.

Pinkwashing and Propaganda
An investigation was undertaken by Eurovision News Spotlight (a subset of the EBU), which discovered that the Israeli government had funded an international advertising campaign, targeting 35 countries in their native languages, emphasising that they were able to vote up to 20 times. Furthermore, with Israeli embassies around the world posting that a vote for Israel in the contest was a vote for “resilience and hope” [6], the messaging is clear. Not only does this contradict the ethos of the contest as a “non-political” event, but it also highlights how inclusion in the contest is vital to the Israeli government as a platform to promote innocence.

It’s not just in Europe, either. With the new “Rest of the World” vote introduced in 2024, Israeli propaganda reach has hit a global level. And it worked – in 2025, the Israeli entry placed second overall, and placed first in the televote with 297 points [7]. Allowing Israel to remain in the contest promotes the state’s propaganda and inherently denies the rights of the Palestinian people.

Furthermore, sending Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7th attacks, to represent the country in 2025 is not a “wholesome” story of a young survivor following her dreams, but exploiting her trauma and experience to procure an image of the Israeli state as a victim of the genocide it commits. Raphael’s experience does not give Israel a “reason” for committing genocide against the Palestinian people, yet this is the image that is being disseminated into the homes of millions around the world.

Lack of Action
The inclusion of Israel has always been a controversial topic, and this has only increased over the past two contests. After the voting controversies in 2025, broadcasters are finally stepping up to denounce the inclusion of Israel. Slovenia, Ireland, and the Netherlands have all confirmed that they will withdraw if Israel is allowed to participate; however, host country Austria has said they will refuse to host the contest if Israel is kicked out [8]. In September, the European Broadcasting Union announced that it would be holding a vote on the participation of Israel and possible sanctions on KAN (the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation). This vote has since been called off after the recent ceasefire, and instead the issue will be discussed at a general meeting in December – despite the IDF having already resumed strikes on Gaza [8].

There is precedent for exclusion from the contest. In 2022, Russia was expelled from participating after the invasion of Ukraine and later rescinded its membership from the EBU in protest [9]. The fact that Russia was expelled the day after invading Ukraine and Israel has been given a “popular vote” solution after two years of blatant genocide is inconceivable. This could perhaps be due to the contrasting opinions of other participating broadcasters, or it could also be because the main sponsor of the contest is the Israeli company Moroccan Oil.

The EBU and Eurovision are not innocent bystanders caught in a difficult situation. Preserving “peace and unity” is difficult when a country that is actively committing mass genocide on a population is being platformed. It’s rendered impossible when the state being slaughtered is suppressed on such a large scale. The act of acknowledging genocide is not political, but denying and intentionally suppressing Palestinian culture certainly is. It’s not just peace and love – it’s propaganda.

References

1 – Anon. 2025. “Vital Statistics: Eurovision 2025’s Record-Breaking Reach.” Eurovision Song Contest. May 28, 2025. https://eurovision.tv/story/eurovision-2025-record-breaking-reach.

2 – Peplow, Gemma. 2025. “Could Eurovision Boycotts over Israel Lead to a Competition Crisis?” Sky News. Sky. September 20, 2025. https://news.sky.com/story/could-eurovision boycotts-over-israel-lead-to-a-competition-crisis-13433435.

3 – Nielsen. 2025. “Super Bowl LIX Makes TV History with over 127 Million Viewers.” Nielsen. February 11, 2025. https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/super-bowl-lix-makes-tv history-with-over-127-million-viewers/.

4 – Rasmus. 2019. “Palestine Flag at Eurovision 2019: Iceland’s Broadcaster Fined.” Eurovisionworld. September 20, 2019. https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/iceland-broadcaster-fined-5000-for.

5 – Stephenson, James. 2025. “🇨🇭 Eurovision 2025: New Flag Rules for Fans and Artists Eurovoix.” Eurovoix. April 25, 2025. https://eurovoix.com/2025/04/25/eurovision-2025-new-flag-rules-for-fans-and-artists/.

6 – Rigotti, Alex. 2024. “Portuguese Eurovision Entry Iolanda’s Finale Performance Video Replaced due to ‘Pro-Palestine Motifs’ on Her Nails.” NME. May 12, 2024. https://www.nme.com/news/music/portuguese-eurovision-entry-iolandas-finale-performance-video-replaced-due-to-pro-palestine-motifs-on-her-nails-3755538.

7 – Bowler, Derek, and Maria Flannery. 2025. “Israeli Government Agency Paid for Adverts Targeting Eurovision Song Contest Public Vote.” Spotlight.ebu.ch. Eurovision News | Spotlight. May 19, 2025. https://spotlight.ebu.ch/p/israeli-government-agency-paid-for.

8 – Anon. 2025a. “Results of the Grand Final of Basel 2025 – Eurovision Song Contest.” Eurovision.tv. 2025. https://eurovision.tv/event/basel-2025/grand-final/results/israel.

9 – Anon. 2025. “Gaza Ceasefire ‘Resumes’ after Killings and Suspension of Aid Test Fragile Truce.” Sky News. Sky. October 19, 2025. https://news.sky.com/story/gaza-ceasefire-resumes after-killings-and-suspension-of-aid-test-fragile-truce-13453671.