Spanish PM calls for Europe to exclude Israel from Eurovision 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for Israel's exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest. He stated that Europe should be "coherent" and exclude Israel from international competitions and festivals, similar to the measures they took with Russia.  

Israel's participation sparked a lot of controversy, as Israel continues its war in Gaza, yet the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has refused to engage in any debates on the matter. 

Sanchéz made these statements during the presentation of the report "The Cultural and Creative Sectors in Spain." He continued by saying that "no one was shocked when Russia was required to withdraw from international competitions or Eurovision," referring to Eurovision's exclusion of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. "We cannot act differently with regard to Israel," he said, emphasizing: "We cannot afford double standards in culture." 

Sánchez stressed that culture is not only an essential value for social cohesion, but also a vital economic driver for the state. 

"Culture allows us to understand a constantly changing world, to fight fear, express emotions, share dreams, and build bridges between societies," he said. 
"But it must also defend values that we once took for granted but are now being called into question." 

For this reason, Sánchez argued, "those who demand a dull, silent, and neutral cultural sector are mistaken," while "those who use culture to defend values like democracy, public services, or to oppose war in Ukraine and Gaza, are on the right track." 

Spain is one of the five countries that contribute the most funding to the contest (also known as "the big five"), and Spanish public broadcaster RTVE already questioned Israel's presence at the music contest, despite threats from the EBU itself towards the broadcaster.  

RTVE did air the emissions but showed a brief statement shortly before Saturday's final began: "When it comes to human rights, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine."