When Israeli singer Noam Bettan took the stage at the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Tuesday night, it was clear that the long-running music competition had been changed, perhaps forever.
As he unleashes his power ballad Michellesinging mostly in French, the 28-year-old could hear the cheers and jeers. Although for viewers watching on television, it was difficult to make out exactly what was being announced.
Later, Austrian broadcaster ORF said four viewers had been removed, including shouting, “Stop the massacre!” UK viewers were told by the presenter that some viewers should “let it be known” how they feel about Israel’s participation in the competition.
The tournament’s slogan may be “united by music,” but the 2026 installment is divided over Israel’s involvement and continued behavior in the Gaza war. Five countries – Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland – all boycotted the event.
The challenge to expel Israel was rejected by European broadcasters. But the country’s participation in the future must remain hotly contested, especially if Bettan wins and Israeli broadcaster KAN gets to host Eurovision next year.
Except for the music
In the past, when geopolitics collided with music at Eurovision, it was usually the music that prevailed.
A 70-year celebration of pop culture’s often cheap, high-profile ensembles and patriotism mixed with national publicity has evolved into the world’s largest live music event. More than 160 million people are expected to tune into Saturday night’s finale, with many casting electronic votes to determine the winner.
Despite the Cold War, race rivalries, Brexit and successive debt and migrant crises, the competition to choose the best pop song across the continent has proved remarkably tough. Indeed, the competition has extended beyond the borders of continental Europe to include places like Azerbaijan and Australia. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has raised the prospect of entering Canada at some point.
But this year, while the competition seemed sunny and optimistic, the mood behind the scenes was anything but.
“The European Broadcasting Union has agreed that this is the worst crisis they have ever faced,” said Karen Fricker, a Canadian Eurovision fan and adjunct professor at Brock University who has studied the contest extensively.
Violent opposition
Israel’s ongoing military response to a deadly attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has left Gaza in ruins and led prominent human rights organizations to accuse Israeli leaders of inciting genocide.
Health authorities in Gaza say more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed, a figure widely accepted by the international community. More than two million people depend on aid to survive.
Supporters of Israel’s Eurovision ban point to Russia as a precedent. It was released after its attack on the Ukraine in 2022. The Israeli government rejects any comparison, framing the Gaza war as self-defense.
Spain’s decision to stay away from Eurovision is very important, as it is one of the so-called Big Five countries that take the majority of the contest’s credits.
In announcing its boycott, Irish broadcaster RTE spoke of the “appalling loss of life” in Gaza, while Slovenia’s national broadcaster said it would instead broadcast a series of programs called. Palestinian voices.
Iceland and the Netherlands did not send contestants to Eurovision but still broadcast the event.
Voting irregularities?
Although Gaza is the main driver of anti-Israel sentiment, it is not the only point of contention for the Eurovision organizers. There are also questions about Israel’s alleged attempts to tip the scales in favor of entrants.
During the contest, judges from Eurovision member countries vote for the acts they support. So are members of the public, even though they are prevented from voting for their country. The final results are split 50/50 between the judges and the public.
The New York Times reported earlier this week that in 2025, social media accounts linked to the Israeli prime minister’s office urged audiences across Europe to use all of their 20 online votes to support Israel’s entry, Yuval Raphael, who ended up finishing second.
Using government resources in an attempt to solicit audience votes is prohibited under Eurovision rules.
The Times also reported that Israel spent more than 1 million US dollars on Eurovision advertising to try to improve Israel’s “soft power”.
After last year’s contest, the voting rules were changed to reduce the number of votes members can cast to 10.
This change does not seem to have completely eliminated the conflict. Earlier this week, Israel’s public broadcaster received a warning from Eurovision organizers after KAN posted on social media urging Europeans to use all 10 of their online votes to support Bettan.
Allegation of a campaign for anointing
Israeli officials have accused their critics of waging a smear campaign. The minister of state for Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Anti-Semitism issued a lengthy statement the day before the semi-final condemning the boycott.
The minister said he acted inappropriately “against incidents of violence and culture surrounding” Eurovision. It documented a series of events it said were planned to discredit Israel and incite hatred in Jewish communities outside the country. The statement says this includes “digital activities, pressure directed at artists, visual propaganda and organized protests.”
The statement went on to accuse “European governments and civil society” of providing an “emergency” to mobilize Jews and that Eurovision has become “a false stage for radical Islam” which Israel says threatens the continent.
In Austria alone, the Israeli authorities say that in the four months before the Eurovision event, they have identified more than 39,500 posts that are against the law in X.
Eurovision 2026 takes place at the same time this year that Palestinians celebrate Nakba Day, the anniversary of when more than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to flee after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
‘toxic’ environment
While the current five-country boycott is the biggest in Eurovision history, it is not entirely unique. In 1970, the four Nordic countries and Portugal held a boycott of the voting system, which they claimed disadvantaged the smaller countries.
Israel has also been the victim of other crises, including Lebanon in 1970, which withdrew its participation in the competition rather than play a performance featuring an Israeli singer.
What makes the 2026 boycott different is the broader context of the country, said Fricker at Brock University. He says that stories about world conflicts are now being fought on the radio, social media and public spaces. That makes it inevitable that events like Eurovision will be part of the big battleground.
“I don’t think we should underestimate how dangerous the Eurovision scene has become,” he told CBC News.
However, some long-time observers downplayed the controversy over Israel’s involvement.
“I think it’s inevitable because Eurovision always shows the political fanatic of the time,” said Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic, a regular UK commentator for the event.
‘The biggest election in Europe’
He also says that the criticisms raised about the voting process are not unique to this year’s event, or to Israel, and that it is normal for organizers to make changes as new voting technologies emerge.
“This is the biggest election in Europe and actually from 2023, when people all over the world are allowed to vote,” he told the CBC News Network. “That makes it an interesting experiment in public democracy.”
Spanish economist Juan D. Moreno-Tenero, who has studied Eurovision voting patterns, believes the organizers responded appropriately.
“These criticisms are scientifically unfounded,” he said. Whether you give people 20 votes to support their favorite songs, like before, or 10 votes, with the new changes, is unlikely to make much of a difference to who wins.
“There is nothing wrong [with] allowing people to vote more than once. So we have this whole idea of one person, one vote – but that doesn’t necessarily make it democracy at its best. “
Bettan, an Israeli singer, will perform in the final after surviving the semi-finals and the vote of the national judges and the public. The biggest test of the voting system, and Eurovision, will be what happens on Saturday night.
