Israel's participation in Eurovision 2024

This thread is a very good explanation of the situation and why in many ways it isn't directly analogous to what happened with Russia.



TLDR - The EBU were never in a position to ban Israel without the backing of a majority of their constituent members, which unlike the Russia situation they did not have.

It seems likely that there was an effort to run the clock down by rejecting Israel's song on political grounds and allowing KAN to save face by withdrawing. But then the President of Israel got directly involved and publicly pressured KAN to make whatever allowances were necessary to ensure Israel were represented on the Eurovision stage.

So that's where we are.
 
Is there any scenario where Israel pull out / get booted out between now and May? Is Iceland the only country considering withdrawal?
 
ZenGiraffe said:
Is there any scenario where Israel pull out / get booted out between now and May? Is Iceland the only country considering withdrawal?
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Anything's possible up until the night. They'd be fined if they withdrew, but that's probably not going to be the deciding factor.

But at this point it seems highly unlikely. Even if certain artists withdrew, unless it was in line with the broadcasters - most of whom have backed Israel's participation - they they could just be replaced by another song/act.

There are maybe 3-5 artists I could maybe see making that call. Honestly I'd be surprised if any of them actually went through with it though.
 
ZenGiraffe said:
Is there any scenario where Israel pull out / get booted out between now and May? Is Iceland the only country considering withdrawal?
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Even Iceland aren’t going anywhere now. They said they’d consult with the artist and there’s no way Hera Björk will pass it up.
 
Oh there's been discourse about Unicorn as a stealth zionist anthem since this time last year.

From what I've read, most of it sounds like quite a STRETCH to be honest. And even if it was intentional, if it goes over 99.9% of viewers heads, you have to wonder what exactly including it was supposed to have achieved.
 
30,632 Palestinians killed as of two days ago - 11,500 of which are children. I wonder how many it will be come May.
 
There is a video of Eden really excited about the news and it's made me a bit sad knowing what a terrible experience it's going to end up for her and how she's just being used by the Israeli president to make a political point
 
I don't get it, going there to skip the red carpet, interviews, press conferences, everything, the massive booing that poor girl is gonna get as soon as she gets the stage, the hostility they're going to face everywhere... they have to be aware of the situation,is it worth it? I'm not convinced they're actually going, there must be someone sensible there.
 
I can’t believe anyone high up in Israel decision making would ever think of withdrawing to be honest….
 
Eric Saade: “all the children who have been murdered wouldn’t fit into Malmo arena”
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Sheena said:
I can’t believe anyone high up in Israel decision making would ever think of withdrawing to be honest….
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Yes and this is exactly how it has seemed from the start - if anything they're more likely to double down and push for participation.
 
It does feel like no matter what your views on this, surely Israel taking part is going to put a dark cloud over the contest, making it extremely uncomfortable sometimes at best, with potential for a lot of aggression and toxicity inside and out of the arena. And yes, it's hard to imagine their singer having anything other than an awful time really. I mean fine, they want to stand their ground and participate, but it doesn't say much when you're quite happy to send your contestant to face what is highly likely to be a whole world of grief.
 
VoR said:
This thread is a very good explanation of the situation and why in many ways it isn't directly analogous to what happened with Russia.



TLDR - The EBU were never in a position to ban Israel without the backing of a majority of their constituent members, which unlike the Russia situation they did not have.

It seems likely that there was an effort to run the clock down by rejecting Israel's song on political grounds and allowing KAN to save face by withdrawing. But then the President of Israel got directly involved and publicly pressured KAN to make whatever allowances were necessary to ensure Israel were represented on the Eurovision stage.

So that's where we are.
Click to expand...


I found this thread extremely useful and have bookmarked for reference / sharing as the Contest draws nearer. I am in the orbit of lefty political circles and have seen a lot of posts about Eurovision this year calling for all manner of things (mostly for others to boycott, but also for the EBU to ban Russia, and also to pressure broadcasters or even artists to withdraw) but a lot of them have come from people who don’t follow the contest closely or understand its machinations. This thread is a really useful summation of why we are where we are from someone that actually gets it.

I’ll admit - I was hopeful that the EBU would manage to exclude them using the lyrics clause and am disappointed that they have been confirmed. I’ve no doubt this will cast a long shadow over this year’s contest.
 
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ZenGiraffe said:
There is a video of Eden really excited about the news and it's made me a bit sad knowing what a terrible experience it's going to end up for her and how she's just being used by the Israeli president to make a political point
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I mean, she has opted to enter of her own will. I'm pretty sure she's garnered an inkling of what's likely waiting for her reception-wise from the hemming and hawing so far - framing it as her being "used" by the President of Israel by him intervening to express that the state wishes that their entry be accepted (which is presumably her position on the matter too!) feels a bit odd.
 
Penelope said:
I mean, she has opted to enter of her own will. I'm pretty sure she's garnered an inkling of what's likely waiting for her reception-wise from the hemming and hawing so far - framing it as her being "used" by the President of Israel by him intervening to express that the state wishes that their entry be accepted (which is presumably her position on the matter too!) feels a bit odd.
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The news reported that it was the president's intervention that led to them changing the lyrics and staying in. That's clearly putting the political above the wellbeing of the performer, hence why I said used. It's not dissimilar to Julia and her Mountain for Russia.

Also, Eden is a young singer at the start of her career, with little international profile. It's not unreasonable to suggest she doesn't fully grasp what's ahead of her. The more responsible thing from KAN would be to have swapped to a much more seasoned performer if they were staying in
 
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ZenGiraffe said:
The news reported that it was the president's intervention that led to them changing the lyrics and staying in. That's clearly putting the political above the wellbeing of the performer, hence why I said used. It's not dissimilar to Julia and her Mountain for Russia.

Also, Eden is a young singer at the start of her career, with little international profile. It's not unreasonable to suggest she doesn't fully grasp what's ahead of her. The more responsible thing from KAN would be to have swapped to a much more seasoned performer if they were staying in
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She's 20 and has been doing professional performance from a young age. Going on about the state's decision over whether to enter or not from the angle of the wellbeing of the performer is totally disingenuous - Israelis are pretty familiar with the idea of what representing their country on the world stage does involve and could well involve, and have been ever since the 1972 Olympics. We're talking about a state that has national service from 18!
 
Penelope said:
She's 20 and has been doing professional performance from a young age. Going on about it from the angle of the wellbeing of the performer is totally disingenuous - Israelis are pretty familiar with the idea of what representing their country on the world stage does involve and could well involve, and have been ever since the 1972 Olympics.
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If I'm being disingenuous what do you think I really mean then?
 
Penelope said:
She's 20 and has been doing professional performance from a young age. Going on about the state's decision over whether to enter or not from the angle of the wellbeing of the performer is totally disingenuous - Israelis are pretty familiar with the idea of what representing their country on the world stage does involve and could well involve, and have been ever since the 1972 Olympics. We're talking about a state that has national service from 18!
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I mean she presumably has access to the internet so I agree she won't be going into this blind, but I do wonder if it's possible to psychologically prepare for just how hostile the audience might be. I imagine probably a strong element of Israeli citizens believing that there's some largely silent majority who think they've done nothing wrong.

That said, we have no way of knowing until the night. She might get a totally mixed reception.
 
Am assuming that whatever her stance is, if she backed down she would have to endure a worse and more durable backlash domestically, than the 3 minutes of booing the production can possibly save her from.
 
I find it admirable some of you are persisting with the notion that she isn't absolutely over the moon to have won the ticket to be cutie of the evening for the entire world for 1-2 nights in May :disco:

I mean COME ON - we're talking about someone who tried to enter for Russia for Junior Eurovision the year after Crimea. She probably makes Rachel Berry look like VoR!
 
Yeah I mean personal opinion aside I can’t help but feel for the girl whether she’s doing it off her own back or not… I’d take a pass ultimately. Even if the song is amazing she’s going to remembered for being Israel’s entry when…. This…. Was happening…
 
ZenGiraffe said:
If I'm being disingenuous what do you think I really mean then?
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That Israel shouldn't have entered and that you disapprove of their President intervening to make it clear that the state at the very highest level prioritises entering Eurovision, be that what it may. (which as it goes, I wouldn't entirely be at odds with!) IIt's not as if Israel doesn't famously go quite a way beyond the international standard in security and safeguarding for its citizens at all times anyway.
 
Penelope said:
That Israel shouldn't have entered and that you disapprove of their President intervening to make it clear that the state at the very highest level prioritises entering Eurovision, be that what it may. (which as it goes, I wouldn't entirely be at odds with!) IIt's not as if Israel doesn't famously go quite a way beyond the international standard in security and safeguarding for its citizens at all times anyway.
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To be fair I do think it's possible to hold both thoughts in your head at the same time. I think Israel should absolutely not be competing this year, but I don't relish the idea of a young girl getting booed by an entire arena, even if she is a bit vile.
 
Penelope said:
That Israel shouldn't have entered and that you disapprove of their President intervening to make it clear that the state at the very highest level prioritises entering Eurovision, be that what it may. It's not as if Israel doesn't famously go quite a way beyond the international standard in security and safeguarding for its citizens at all times anyway!
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Of course I don't think Israel should be allowed to compete, nor that the president should have intervened. I'm not trying to disguise that.

I just also think it likely that Eden hasn't fully grasped what she's about to go through, whilst the President and KAN have. Not even so much the safety aspect, just the booing and protesting that she will be subjected to (deservedly).
 
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