Recently, it has been announced that Israel will be participating at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö. With the ongoing situation in Palestine and Israel, our team wishes that peace can be restored, reflecting the values on which the Eurovision Song Contest was founded.
Up until now, we have covered Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024, as the broadcaster has not been in breach of the Contest’s rules. However, as the situation in the Middle East progressed, it became apparent that Israel’s national selection “HaKokhav HaBa (The Next Star)” would be used as a political tool to promote military action by state broadcaster KAN. There have already been instances of both contestants and jurors dressed as soldiers, equating the values of Eurovision with those of the Israeli government.
The ‘That Eurovision Site’ team believes that using the Contest as a platform to promote military activity by the Israeli government goes against the values of the Contest. Many of the team also feel uncomfortable contributing to the discussion of a broadcaster that is in breach of EBU rules and, while the Contest may be the reason that brings us together, our writers take top priority.
We have, therefore, decided to restrict our coverage of Israel’s participation in Eurovision moving forward. This will be in effect until further notice, or until we see a dramatic shift in tone from both KAN and the EBU.
We will still report factual information about Israel’s participation in the contest, which includes the selected artist, and their entry as long as it is not politicised in any way.
As our fellow fan-media outlets such as Eurovoix, ESCXTRA and Phoenix have taken a similar stand, we invite you to follow our lead. We will not be making any further comments about this policy at this time.
We would like to reiterate our position of peace to all of the parties involved in the ongoing situation in Israel and Palestine. Our thoughts and prayers go to all who have been affected by the ongoing war and wish for those to know we are thinking of them all.
Rory Gannon 
Tim J
[…] FTT’s statement is one of the first released by a formal association from the participating countries following the news that Israel would participate in Eurovision 2024. Some Eurovision news sites, including That Eurovision Site, have also chosen to restrict their coverage of this year’s contest to exclude Israel. You may read our statement here. […]
[…] That Eurovision Site is currently restricting its coverage of Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for the forseeable future. For more information on how our coverage is being affected, please read the following statement. […]
[…] That Eurovision Site is currently restricting its coverage of Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for the foreseeable future. For more information on how our coverage is being affected, please read the following statement. […]
[…] That Eurovision Site is currently restricting its coverage of Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for the forseeable future. For more information on how our coverage is being affected, please read the following statement. […]
[…] Additionally, all of our jurors were asked to give one positive, and one negative comment about each song in a constructive manner. As well as opinions we have also guest Jurors from other outlets voicing their opinions. In line with our current editorial policy Israel will not be reviewed as part of this jury. You can read more about our stance here. […]
[…] Additionally, all of our jurors were asked to give one positive, and one negative comment about each song in a constructive manner. As well as opinions we have also guest Jurors from other outlets voicing their opinions. In line with our current editorial policy Israel will not be reviewed as part of this jury. You can read more about our stance here. […]
[…] Additionally, all of our jurors were asked to give one positive, and one negative comment about each song in a constructive manner. As well as opinions we have also guest Jurors from other outlets voicing their opinions. In line with our current editorial policy Israel will not be reviewed as part of this jury. You can read more about our stance here. […]
[…] Additionally, all of our jurors were asked to give one positive, and one negative comment about each song in a constructive manner. As well as opinions we have also guest Jurors from other outlets voicing their opinions. In line with our current editorial policy Israel will not be reviewed as part of this jury. You can read more about our stance here. […]
[…] Additionally, all of our jurors were asked to give one positive, and one negative comment about each song in a constructive manner. As well as opinions we have also guest Jurors from other outlets voicing their opinions. In line with our current editorial policy Israel will not be reviewed as part of this jury. You can read more about our stance here. […]
[…] Additionally, all of our jurors were asked to give one positive, and one negative comment about each song in a constructive manner. As well as opinions we have also guest Jurors from other outlets voicing their opinions. In line with our current editorial policy Israel will not be reviewed as part of this jury. You can read more about our stance here. […]
[…] Additionally, all of our jurors were asked to give one positive, and one negative comment about each song in a constructive manner. As well as opinions we have also guest Jurors from other outlets voicing their opinions. In line with our current editorial policy Israel will not be reviewed as part of this jury. You can read more about our stance here. […]
[…] will be seen as controversial by many. Here at That Eurovision Site, we have taken the decision to not cover Israel’s participation in the contest as a response to what we, and many other fan sites, see as the politicisation of the contest by […]