5 minutes agoSpanish Prime Minister Calls for Israel's Eurovision Ban
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)This year's Eurovision Song Contest has ended, but political tensions, doubts about voting and different attitudes haunt the European song contest. The Spanish prime minister has called for Israel to be expelled from the Eurovision Song Contest because of its military actions in Gaza. Pedro Sánchez pointed out [...]
This year's Eurovision Song Contest has ended, but political tensions, doubts about voting and different attitudes haunt the European song contest.
The Spanish prime minister has called for Israel to be expelled from the Eurovision Song Contest because of its military actions in Gaza.
Pedro Sánchez noted that Russia has been banned from the competition since 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine, and said there should not be “double standards”.
Israel came in second in the grand final of the Swiss competition on Saturday, but headed the public vote with Spanish viewers who gave Israel a maximum of 12 points.
Israeli Minister for diaspora Affairs Amicha Chikli mocked Sanchezin with a post on social networks where he said the vote had been a “slap on his face” for the Spanish prime minister, “which we heard here in Jerusalem”.
Speaking at a press conference in Madrid, Sánchez said: “No one was angry when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three years ago and [Russia] was forced to leave international competitions and could not participate, as we just saw in Eurovision. ”
So neither should Israel, because what we cannot allow is double standards in culture. ”
Israel ranked second at Eurovision 2025, where it was represented by Yuval Raphael and its song “News Day Will Reese” /Periscope/
