Slovenia warned it may withdraw from the contest if Israel is not removed from the 2025 competition [Getty]
Slovenia is demanding Israel is removed from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest amid its ongoing war on Gaza, Israeli media reported on Sunday.
According to Haaretz, Slovenia’s public broadcaster, RTV SLO, has already submitted a letter to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) requesting that Israel is disqualified from taking part.
The letter reportedly states that if Slovenia’s request is denied, it would consider pulling out from the contest as a form of protest.
This comes after a meeting was held earlier this month where the broadcaster’s council debated whether Slovenia should boycott the competition or instead choose not to broadcast Israel’s performance.
Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar also said earlier this month that both Israel and Russia had violated the UN Charter with ongoing wars on Gaza and Ukraine, respectively, adding that Israel had committed violations on a much larger scale.
The competition, which has previously sparked controversy over Israel’s involvement, is set to take place in May next year in Switzerland.
Last year, several artists and senior figures in Eurovision-linked broadcasters urged for Israel to be boycotted due to the war on Gaza.
While the competition maintains it is a “non-political event”, activists have repeatedly called for Israel to be banned due to atrocities carried out in Gaza, which have been slammed by international rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Last year, a Dublin-based national radio station announced it would host a fundraiser for Palestine on the same night as the Eurovision Song Contest, amid growing calls for a boycott of the competition.
Israeli participation
Israel’s participation in the competition has also been plunged further into question due to proposed legislation by the Israeli parliament.
While Israel is not in Europe, they are eligible to compete in Eurovision because its broadcaster is a member of the EBU.
However, this week, the EBU warned the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee, which is debating bills that could dismantle Israel’s public broadcaster, that this could mean they are removed from the union.
“Privatising Kan would lead to its removal from our union, limit Israel’s role in international events like Eurovision and prevent Israeli viewers from accessing content such as the 2026 World Cup” the letter from EBU read.
Alon Gellert, who represents Kan at the Knesset committee, called attempts to remove Israel from the competition “efforts by antisemitic organisations and Palestinian activists to exclude Israel from international institutions”.
“The State of Israel fights tirelessly to prevent such exclusion. Now, through our own actions, we risk achieving their goals” he added.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 45,317 Palestinians and wounded over 107,713 others since 7 October 2023. The war on the besieged enclave has levelled entire neighbourhoods and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis.
