The Israeli broadcaster addresses accusations, stating: “The public has spoken—Israel rightfully placed second.” This response follows European skepticism regarding the legitimacy of the public vote in Eurovision 2025, which awarded Israel second place overall.
In the days following the Eurovision final, numerous European countries have expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the public vote that awarded Israel first place in the televote and second place overall in the competition. National broadcasters from Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Iceland, and Slovenia have called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to investigate the public voting process that led to Israel’s victory in the televote. Finland’s representative argued that Israel’s vote mobilization was unfair. Meanwhile, the Austrian Eurovision winner, Croatia’s representative, and even Spain’s Prime Minister have called for Israel’s disqualification from the contest.
The EBU has already clarified: “There is no evidence of any rule violation. An independent verification system checks both jury and public votes to ensure valid results. Our voting partner, Once, confirmed that valid votes were recorded in every participating country in this year’s final—and worldwide as well.”
This morning, the Israeli national broadcaster issued its first response to the accusations:
“We are extremely proud of Yuval Raphael and the Israeli song, ‘New Day Will Rise,’ at the Eurovision competition in Switzerland. The song achieved a respectable second place, with the Israeli delegation, the artist’s team, and the national broadcaster adhering to all contest rules and acting with respect and collegiality toward other delegations and artists.
Any other insinuation is irrelevant, uncollegial, and, above all, inconsistent with the facts—the European public loves Yuval and the Israeli song and is focused solely on the music. The Israeli delegation warmly congratulates Austria, which won first place.”
Country-by-Country Reactions
Belgium:
Belgian broadcasters RTBF and VRT are demanding full transparency from the EBU and calling for changes to the voting system. The Flemish ruling party “Vooruit” also demands a comprehensive investigation, citing the unusual gap between the public and jury votes, especially for Israel. Notably, Switzerland, the host country, placed second with the jury but last (26th) with the public, a much larger gap, yet Israel remains the main focus of controversy.
Spain:
Spanish broadcaster RTVE demands a thorough review of the voting process after the Spanish public awarded Israel 12 points. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, stated: “No one was surprised when Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, and Russia was required to leave international competitions—including Eurovision, as we saw. Israel should not be part of the contest. We cannot afford double standards in culture.”
Netherlands:
Dutch broadcasters NPO and AVROTROS released a joint statement urging the EBU to discuss the role and nature of Eurovision amid growing political influences on the contest.
“AVROTROS and NPO attach great importance to the apolitical and unifying value of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, we see the event increasingly affected by social and geopolitical pressures. Israel’s participation raises the question—how much does Eurovision still function as a cultural, unifying, and apolitical event? We wish to raise this question, together with other countries, for discussion with the EBU.”
Finland:
Yle’s chief entertainment producer, Juha Lahti, said Finland will ask the EBU to examine whether it is time to update the rules or at least assess if current rules allow for abuse. He suggested increasing the weight of the public vote, provided individual voting is limited: “If we intend to emphasize the public vote, we must really consider whether it makes sense for one person to vote twenty times.”
Iceland:
RÚV’s CEO, Stefán Eiríksson, announced that Iceland will also request detailed data from the EBU regarding the televote in Eurovision 2025: “Of course, we will monitor developments and request the same information from the EBU regarding phone voting, as the Spanish broadcaster did.” He emphasized that public voting is fully managed by the EBU, which negotiates with telecom companies in each country, so they have no access to information beyond what is publicly available.
Ireland:
Irish broadcaster RTÉ had already called for Israel’s disqualification prior to Eurovision. Two weeks ago, it was revealed that the EBU had committed to a “broader discussion among members” regarding Israel’s participation. The Irish public awarded Israel 10 points.
Slovenia:
Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO had called for Israel’s exclusion since December 2024 and continues to join countries demanding Israel’s disqualification. The Slovenian public awarded Israel 6 points.
Artists and Political Figures Speak Out
The Austrian Eurovision 2025 winner, in an interview with Spanish newspaper El País, expressed strong views against Israel’s participation:
“It is very disappointing that Israel is still competing. I hope next year will be in Vienna—without Israel. But the ball is in the EBU’s court. We, the artists, can only raise our voices.”
He added: “There should be more transparency in the public vote. This year, everything was very strange in that regard.”
Croatia’s representative, Marko Bošnjak, who performed “Poison Cake” but did not reach the final, posted a video on Instagram:
“Now that the contest is over, we can talk. First of all—Israel should be boycotted from Eurovision. There is no reason for it to participate. Why? Because it is committing genocide in Palestine.”
Finland’s representative, Erika Vikman, who finished 11th with “Ich Komme,” expressed frustration with the results, including criticism of the Israeli media and public:
“I read today in the Finnish media that Israel managed to mobilize an enormous number of votes. I think this is really unfair.”
Support for Israel
Greece:
Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, under whose authority the Greek national broadcaster ERT falls, rejected European accusations of Israeli vote rigging:
“Eurovision is a music competition. Artists and songs participate. The public and juries vote according to their own criteria. Indeed, the European public placed Israel first, according to how each person chose to vote.”
Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis posted on social media after the Eurovision 2025 final:
“Across Europe, the public chose Israel as their top preference, while the juries—who always lean left, everywhere and here—ranked it very low (we ranked it unacceptably low). A total disconnect between the public and the juries. Kudos to those who were not swayed by leftist propaganda and supported the great Western democracy of the Middle East during these difficult times and in this competition.”
Germany:
According to Turkish news sites, Germany threatened to withdraw from the contest if Israel’s disqualification was enforced. Reportedly, a clear ultimatum from the German national broadcaster prevented Israel’s removal, though the German broadcaster did not comment on this report.
Israel at Eurovision 2025
“New Day Will Rise” is the song performed by Yuval Raphael, who was chosen to represent Israel after winning the 11th season of “The Next Star.” Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 203 points and finished second overall with 436 points in the grand final. Israel ranked first in the public vote but only 14th with the jury. This marks the third consecutive year that Israel has reached the top five—an unprecedented achievement.
Eurovision 2025: The 69th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the city of Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 15, and 17. This marked the third time Switzerland hosted the contest, with the previous occasion being in 1989 in Lausanne. The venue for the event was St. Jakobshalle, which has a capacity of 12,400 seats. It was the first time that Basel served as the host city for the Eurovision Song Contest.
