The president of Iceland’s National Broadcaster (RÚV), Stefán Jón Hafstein, published a commentary on Tuesday calling for Israel to be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest – and suggested in the event the ban was impossible, the contest could allow Israeli singers to participate without their national flags.
The Eurovision Song Contest will enter its 70th year in 2026, a continental musical competition conceived of as a way to unify the continent following the horrors of World War II. While most participants are geographically located in Eurovision, several nations close but not quite inside the continent – including Israel, but others such as Azerbaijan and Georgia – have been invited to compete for decades. Australia has also competed at Eurovision since 2015. Nations participate through their public broadcast networks.
Israel has been participating in the contest since 1973 and has won four times. In 2025, Israel’s participant – singer Yuval Raphael, with the song “New Day Will Rise” – came in second place to winner JJ and his song “Wasted Love,” largely on the back of prodigious support from the public vote.
Anti-Israel and antisemitic activists have for years campaigned to expel Israel from the competition. In the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 – which Raphael personally survived – anti-Israel activists have argued that Israel’s self-defense operations against Hamas are comparable to Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbor (and fellow Eurovision competitor) Ukraine. Russia and its proxy state Belarus were expelled from the competition in 2022. As a result, anti-Israel voices argue, Israel should also be expelled from the competition until its operations in Gaza conclude.
Hafstein, the Icelandic broadcaster boss, wrote in a commentary in the Icelandic publication Visir that allowing Israel to compete keeps the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the entity overseeing the contest, in a state of “dual morality.”
“There is nothing that can justify allowing Israel to participate in the singing competition,” Hafstein insisted.
The EBU has resolutely resisted attempts to oust Israel from the competition until now. Hafstein, apparently expecting a similar rejection of that call in the future, also proposed a compromise in which Israel’s singers were welcome, but not its national identity as the world’s only Jewish state. The official suggested that Israeli singers could use a “neutral flag” independent of Israel’s Star of David flag and sing in the competition.
The idea is akin to how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has handled the case of Russia. The Russian Olympics entity has repeatedly been caught engaging in illicit use of drugs and other performance enhancers. In 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that, as a result, Russia would not be able to use its name, flag, or national anthem for two more Olympics cycles.
During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, in which Russia was “banned,” Chinese dictator Xi Jinping proclaimed Russian strongman Vladimir Putin his most important guest; Putin attended events and openly cheered for Russian athletes with impunity.
Hafstein wrote that he is expecting to propose the “neutral flag” option at the next EBU member state meeting, in which Israel is expected to be a topic of deep discussion.
Iceland has repeatedly condemned Israel’s participation in the contest, more vocally after Israel suffered the October 7 attacks. In anticipation of the 2024 contest, won by Switzerland, the Icelandic Association of Composers and Lyricists announced that it would demand Iceland withdraw from the competition in 2024 if Israel participated. Israel participated that year, coming in fifth in the grand final despite jurors openly stating they voted against Israel for political reasons. Iceland came in last in their semi-final and thus did not compete in the Eurovision final that year.
This year, Iceland’s entry – the song “Róa” by duo VÆB – made it to the final competition, but came in 25th out of 26th songs, second only to San Marino, which sent a DJ act lacking a primary vocalist. VÆB faced accusations of plagiarism following the debut of their entry, which detractors said sounded uncannily similar to the Israeli song “Wedding of the Year.” Songwriter Ofir Cohen complained that “Róa” was a “blatant copy” of his song; the EBU did not take action against the Icelandic brother duo.
In addition to Iceland, Slovenia, Belgium, and Spain so far have publicly called for the EBU to ban Israel from the competition. Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez personally weighed in, insisting, “if no one put their hands on their heads when the invasion of Russia began and they were required to leave international competitions and not participate in Eurovision, neither, therefore, should Israel.”
Yuval Raphael won 12 points – the maximum amount – from the Spanish voting public at the 2025 competition.
In Austria, Eurovision winner JJ also openly called for a ban on Israel, ultimately his closest rival in the contest.
“It is very disappointing to see that Israel continues to participate in the contest,” he said in an interview following his victory. “I would like next year’s Eurovision to take place in Vienna without Israel.”
Another 2025 contestant, Marko Bosnjak of Croatia, called for a ban on both Israel and Ukraine from the competition on the grounds that countries in the heat of war received an unfair advantage in the voting unrelated to their music, as the public votes in solidarity with their suffering people.
“In my mind, if any country is participating in a war, no matter if they are on the side of the aggressor or the victim, they should not be participating in Eurovision,” Bosnjak, whose song “Poison Cake” did not make it to the final, said in a video posted to Instagram in which he appeared wearing a t-shirt with the logo of the Ukrainian band Ziferblat, who competed against him.
Later in the video, Bosnjak adds, “I didn’t say anything about: oh we have to disqualify Ukraine. If we have to disqualify anyone from the Eurovision Song Contest, that is Israel. That is Israel, point blank period. I never called for Ukraine to be disqualified.”
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