ESC 2026: Why Excluding Israel Is the Wrong Path

Debate on Israel’s Participation at Eurovision: Why canceling is no solution, and why the Song Contest should build bridges, not walls.

By Marco Schreuder

Recently, the Ghent Festival of Flanders caused a stir. The festival disinvited the Munich Philharmonic on September 18, 2025, because its conductor, Lahav Shani, is also the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra – and the festival considered his stance on the Israeli government not clear enough. Now Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS and Irish broadcaster RTÉ want to cancel Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest. Similar signals have come from Spain, Slovenia, and Iceland. Meanwhile, the ORF Foundation Council in Austria has spoken out in favor of Israel’s participation.

I know this topic divides the community – and therefore also the listeners of our podcast. I hope everyone can endure different perspectives, because in an open society, that’s a basic prerequisite for living together and for real debate.

I have a clear opinion on why canceling Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest is the wrong path. Here are nine reasons:

1. Broadcasters compete at ESC – not governments

At the Eurovision Song Contest, it is not governments that compete, but broadcasters. Public service broadcasters are members of the EBU – not states themselves. As long as a broadcaster upholds the principles of free speech and independent journalism, there is no reason to question its participation. That is the case with the Israeli broadcaster KAN. If that were ever to change, then the EBU would need to review membership in general – but that would have less to do with ESC itself. And I honestly believe freedom of speech is more robust at KAN than at some other broadcasters within the EBU.

2. Netanyahu and KAN are no friends

The Netanyahu government is anything but KAN-friendly. It plans to privatize the broadcaster and dismantle public service broadcasting altogether. KAN and its parent, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, are the last remnants of the once-proud IBA, dissolved in 2015. The fact that ESC 2019 could take place in Tel Aviv actually saved KAN – because Israel needed a public broadcaster to host. One might expect other European public broadcasters to stand by KAN and show solidarity. Calls to exclude KAN from ESC are, on the contrary, a stab in the back of democratic, public service Israel.

Perhaps you remember the IBA farewell at ESC 2017:

3. Time for dialogue, not blackmail

The EBU extended the deadlines for withdrawals and applications until December – likely to allow for behind-the-scenes talks. Yet broadcasters such as AVROTROS in the Netherlands or RTÉ in Ireland are publicly stirring up opposition against Israel. They claim Israel’s participation politicizes the ESC – when in fact they are the ones politicizing it. This is an absurd intervention, poisoning and dividing the debate even further. Their approach is also coercive: they don’t want dialogue, they demand an immediate either-or.

4. Music should overcome borders – not create them

Remember: Azerbaijan and Armenia, despite being at war, stood together on the ESC stage for years. And that has always been the essence of ESC – music overcoming borders and enmities. That was already a principle in the early years, when authoritarian states like Portugal and Spain, or socialist Yugoslavia under Tito, were allowed to participate. That has always been the strength of ESC.

5. Portraying Israel only as the aggressor is one-sided

It is biased to portray Israel solely as the aggressor while completely ignoring the Hamas massacres. Criticism of Netanyahu or far-right politicians is legitimate, and I do that myself. But whether a war constitutes genocide is not for social media, personal opinion, or broadcasters to decide – it is for an international court. Neither we, nor national broadcasters, nor the EBU are authorized to rule on this. There is no legally valid judgment on this matter.

6. Double standards

It is striking when people protest exclusively against Israel while remaining silent about other wars or genocides – such as the ongoing one in Sudan. Or when activists say it is fine to protest against far-right government members in Israel, but not against their own politicians or those of other countries. That is a double standard. And such one-sidedness must be called by its name: antisemitism disguised as Israel-criticism. Other countries with wars or with far-right politicians in government also sing on the ESC stage. That cannot be an argument for exclusion.

7. Building Bridges – also in 2026

If we want ESC to once again be a place where music and culture build bridges – similar to sport – then we must remember: this is about people, not governments. About art, about culture, about the possibility of building bridges through them. ESC is about reaching across borders and letting go of hatred, at least for a few days, despite conflicts. It is the Olympic spirit – only as a song contest.

8. Russia is not Israel – two very different cases

Because Israel is so often compared to Russia or Belarus: Russia and Belarus were excluded by the EBU – and subsequently declared their own withdrawal – because their broadcasters are state-controlled, spread war propaganda, and do not allow free journalism. One must also remember: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine clearly violates international law, while Israel’s war against Hamas began after one of the most brutal terrorist attacks in human history. These are two completely different situations and cannot be equated. Hamas is in no way comparable to Ukraine – on the contrary. Ukraine does not have a charter declaring it must wipe Russia off the map or that it is a duty to kill every Russian. And yet, in the spirit of ESC, we should aim for a future where Russia and Belarus can return – with truly independent public service broadcasters. The same goes for countries like Turkey and Hungary.

9. Canceling means silencing other voices

Canceling is no substitute for debate. It doesn’t want debate, it wants to prevent it. Canceling is not about exchange, it is about silencing voices. Canceling is not discussion, it is its termination.

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Photo: Yuval Raphael, victim of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, at the flag parade of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel – Photo: EBU/Alma Bengtsson

This commentary is also reflected in the current podcast episode 07.24 “Nur in der Wiener Luft” of the podcast “Merci, Chérie”, in which we present the host city of ESC 2026, Vienna.