Speaking to N12News, Amir Alon, a former member of Israel’s Eurovision delegation, claimed that the public broadcasters of Italy and Germany have threatened to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is excluded without clear legal grounds.
The two “camps” within the contest are beginning to take shape, as countries supporting Israel’s continued participation begin to openly state their positions. Two of the BIG 5 nations, Italy and Germany, are reportedly backing Israeli public broadcaster KAN, insisting that they will not tolerate Israel’s removal from the competition unless there is a legitimate legal basis for such a move — the same argument KAN itself uses in its defense.
KAN maintains that it fully complies with EBU regulations and emphasizes its editorial independence from the Israeli government. This point has also been acknowledged by the EBU itself in an official statement following its most recent General Assembly. This stance distinguishes Israel’s case from that of Russia and Belarus, whose public broadcasters were deemed propaganda tools of their respective regimes.
Amir Alon stated:
“As long as the war in Gaza continues and images of the conflict reach European audiences, it will be difficult for countries like Italy and Germany to publicly defend Israel. These two countries are among the contest’s top financial contributors, are in direct communication with the EBU, and support KAN. If KAN is excluded, they have threatened to leave the contest as well — something the EBU wants to avoid.”
As it stands, the future of the war will play a critical role in shaping Israel’s fate in the competition. If the conflict ends by December, when the next EBU General Assembly is scheduled to take place, Israel is likely to continue its participation as normal. However, if hostilities persist, even nations that have so far supported Israel may find it increasingly difficult to justify their stance.
It should be noted that, had a vote taken place and resulted in Israel’s exclusion, the ban would have only applied for one year.
Iceland and Spain have publicly supported Israel’s exclusion, while Slovenia and several other countries are reportedly aligned with this view, though they have not issued official statements. On the other side, aside from Israel’s representative arguing in favor of participation, both Switzerland (host of Eurovision 2025) and Austria (host of Eurovision 2026) have expressed open support for Israel.
In the event of a vote, Germany, Italy, Greece, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus are also expected to side with Israel.
Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest developments!