Iceland joins anti-Israel Eurovision 2026 boycott

Iceland’s public broadcaster RUV announced on Wednesday that the country will boycott the Eurovision song contest in 2026 after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) recently announced that Israel would participate next year in Austria. Anti-Israel sentiments in Iceland existed before the Hamas Oct. 7 attack in 2023 but have increased dramatically in the past two years. 

"It is clear from the public debate in this country and the reaction to the EBU's decision last week that there will be neither joy nor peace regarding RUV's participation," the Icelandic broadcaster's Director General Stefan Eiriksson stated.

Iceland, a tiny Nordic country with only 400,000 inhabitants that has never won the competition, thereby joins Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia in boycotting next year’s Eurovision competition due to Israel’s participation. 

Much of the political and cultural elite in these above mentioned countries embrace an anti-Israel narrative that largely ignores the Hamas Oct. 7 atrocities against Israelis and inaccurately equates legitimate Israeli self-defense against Hamas with “genocide” in Gaza. 

The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez who has been one of Israel’s harshest critics in the European Union, criticized the EBU’s decision to include Israel by inaccurately comparing Israel with Russia. 

"If no one was up in arms when Russia began its invasion, and it was exiled from global competitions and Eurovision, then the same should happen with Israel," Sánchez said, failing to distinguish between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Hamas-initiated Gaza war. 

The Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS explained why it would boycott Eurovision next year due to Israeli participation. 

"After weighing all perspectives, AVROTROS concludes that, under the current circumstances, participation cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organization," the broadcaster stated, claiming that Israeli self-defense against Hamas “crossed a boundary” for the organization.

The conservative pro-Israel Dutch politician Geert Wilders condemned the Dutch broadcaster’s decision as "antisemitism and disgusting Israel hatred in its purest form."

Ireland is another country that ranks among Israel’s strongest critics in the Western world. The country’s public broadcaster RTÉ justified its decision to boycott the Eurovision by blaming Israel for the loss of civilian lives in Gaza while ignoring Hamas’s systematic use of civilians as human shields. 

"RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk. RTÉ remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and the continued denial of access to international journalists to the territory," the Irish broadcaster said. 

Ireland also announced that it would not broadcast the Eurovision 2026 due to Israel’s participation. 

Slovenia is another country that has adopted anti-Israel policies. 

Slovenia’s Board Chairwoman Natalija Gorščak embraced anti-Israel narrative in her explanation why the country is boycotting the classic European song contest. 

"Our message is: we will not participate in the ESC (Eurovision Song Contest) if Israel is there. On behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza," Gorščak said, repeating Hamas propaganda figures that have not been confirmed by any independent, reliable sources and ignoring that Hamas deliberately used Gazan civilians as human shields in violation of international law.

By contrast, the host Austria and Germany have both backed the Jewish state’s participation in the Eurovision 2026. 

“Israel is an integral part of the contest,” stated Roland Weißmann, the director general of the Austrian public broadcaster ORF during a visit in Israel last month. 

Germany went even further and warned that it would boycott the Eurovision if Israel was prevented from participating.