OGAE Poland and media outlets back the national broadcaster, pledging support if it withdraws from Eurovision 2026 due to Israel’s contested participation. Will the pressure succeed?
OGAE Poland, alongside a range of media outlets covering the competition, including Eurowizja.org, Dobry Wieczór Europo, Dziennik Eurowizyjny, Eurovibes, Let’s Talk About ESC, Miechulec, and Misja Eurowizja, sent a letter to Tomasz Sygut, director of the Polish national broadcaster TVP. They pledged their backing should TVP decide to withdraw from Eurovision 2026 over Israel’s participation.
The Mysterious Figure and the Critical Decision
According to journalist Ran Boker from Ynet, a supervisor has been appointed, whose identity has not been revealed. He began several weeks ago with a round of meetings with directors of European national broadcasters. However, he has not yet made contact with the Israeli broadcaster KAN.
In Israel, some cautiously assess that the fact he does not come from a hostile country may be a positive sign. At the same time, they are preparing for every scenario. Among the possibilities: a clear recommendation to expel Israel as early as October, or alternatively, postponing the decision to a vote in December in Geneva.
A Special Team at the President’s Residence
According to the same report, on the diplomatic front intensive efforts continue to prevent expulsion. A special team was established at the President’s Residence under the leadership of President Isaac Herzog, who is engaged in talks with European leaders. Herzog himself told KAN that he is working tirelessly to prevent Israel’s expulsion. The purpose of the special team’s around-the-clock effort is to emphasize that Israel’s participation in Eurovision strengthens the contest’s values rather than undermines them.
The Eurovision Debate – Likely December 4th
Martin Green, the Eurovision contest manager on behalf of the European Broadcasting Union, clarified that participation is voluntary:
“The Union will continue to maintain neutrality on the Middle East conflict”.
The vote on Israel’s expulsion is expected to take place on December 4th–5th during the Union’s general assembly. According to Green, by mid-December each country must declare whether it intends to participate in the contest, with every national broadcaster making an independent decision: “And we will respect each decision”.
The Union’s regulations allow for suspension or expulsion of a country only through a special vote with a supermajority and only under extreme circumstances. Nonetheless, rising political tensions, growing calls for boycotts, and the possibility of additional countries joining such a move cast significant uncertainty over the contest set to take place in Vienna.
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 “HaKokhav HaBa”. Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 203 points and finished second overall with 357 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 2026: This will be Israel’s 48th participation in Eurovision. Israel joined the contest in 1973 and has won four times. Its most recent victory was at Eurovision 2018 with the song “Toy”, performed by singer Netta Barzilai.
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Maor Heumann has been writing about the Eurovision Song Contest and following it for over three decades. He has attended five contests and has found something to appreciate in almost every possible musical genre — from the sugary pop entries that finish last in the semi-finals to the quirky avant-garde pieces that even the competition’s juries struggled to connect with. He usually prefers original languages and songs with depth over Swedish-produced English clones — though he doesn’t promise to stick to that rule.
He grew up on the kibbutz of Sara’le Sharon, who instilled in him a love for music and created his first connection to the contest back in 1993 — before most of the current editorial team was even born.
