In 2025, Israel came under fire once more with rumours of interference with public voting. “New Day Will Rise” performed by Yuval Raphael ranked number two overall at this year’s competition in Basel, scoring 297 points from public vote alone. As of November 2025, the song has accumulated over 14 million streams on Spotify. However, Sweden’s song “Bara Bada Bastu” by KAJ has surpassed 100 million streams despite ranking 3rd place in the televote. This has raised questions amongst Eurovision fans about the legitimacy of the public vote.
Evidently, countries involved in Eurovision are interested too.
The Netherlands, Iceland, Belgium, Ireland, Spain and Finland have made their concerns over the public vote very clear with some even requesting an audit. This could mean Israel’s potential disqualification depending on the findings. However, several countries such as Slovenia and those mentioned above have threatened to withdraw from the upcoming competition if Israel’s participation is guaranteed. This has caused tension surrounding Eurovision, with EBU gaining pressure from each side.
In 2022, Russia was banned from Eurovision shortly after the invasion into Ukraine. Additionally, Belarus has also been banned from Eurovision since 2021 because their submission was seen as “politically motivated”. Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, has publicly stated his disapproval of Israel’s participation in Eurovision. He has stated that there shouldn’t be “double standards in culture” when it comes to international events and certainly not when it comes to Eurovision. This statement is a direct reference to the Russian ban, and it is clear Sánchez expects the same punishment for Israel.
Eurovision’s 2025 Song Winner JJ who represented Austria this year has publicly spoken about his position on Israel’s participation. According to the Spanish Daily EL PAIS, JJ (otherwise known as Johannes Pietsch) stated that “it is very disappointing to see that Israel continues to participate in the contest. I would like Eurovision to be held in Vienna next year and without Israel. But the ball is in the EBU’s court. We, the artists, can only raise our voices on the matter”. JJ has made his support for the Palestinian people known and offering his solidarity for their suffering. However, the Austrian public broadcaster ORF directly disagreed with JJ’s remarks, calling them a “personal opinion.”
Nonetheless, Israel’s participation is one of the biggest controversies the song contest has ever seen.
Viktorija Yr12
Boston High School