Reigning Eurovision Winner JJ Wants Israel To Be Removed From Competition Next Year

Austrian singer JJ celebrating his Eurovision win in Basel, Switzerland on Saturday nightNewly-crowned Eurovision winner JJ has added his voice to the ongoing debate about Israel’s presence in the competition.Over the weekend, JJ won this year’s song contest on behalf of Austria, ahead of Israeli act Yuval Raphel, who finished in second place overall, but did land the most points in the televoting.Israel’s continued involvement in Eurovision despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza has become a contentious issue in recent history, with many – including the Palestine-led BDS movement – calling for a boycott of this year’s event.During an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, JJ said he found it “very disappointing to see that Israel is still participating in the contest”.“I would like next year’s Eurovision to be held in Vienna, and without Israel,” he added. “But the ball is in the EBU [European Broadcasting Union, who organise Eurovision each year]’s court. We, the artists, can only raise our voices on the matter.”Yuval Raphael represented Israel at Eurovision 2025In the lead-up to this year’s competition, more than 70 artists and performers associated with Eurovision – including multiple winners – co-signed an open letter urging organisers to expel Israel, in the same way Russia was banned from competing in 2022.Following this, then-reigning winner Nemo said they also didn’t feel that Israel should remain part of Eurovision as a result of the current situation.“Israel’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision claims to uphold – peace, unity and respect for human rights,” they told HuffPost UK in an exclusive interview.Several competing countries’ national broadcasters have now raised questions with Eurovision bosses about Israel’s involvement.Bosses have since said they were committed to “broad discussion with participating broadcasters, to reflect and obtain feedback on all aspects of this year’s event as part of our planning process for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest next year”.MORE EUROVISION:Remember Monday Speak Out On Their Eurovision Experience After Getting Zero Points From ViewersEurovision Bosses Respond After Various National Broadcasters Raise Concerns About Vote Rigging'I Was Never As Overwhelmed As I Was At Eurovision': Former Winner Nemo Reflects On Their 'Whirlwind' Experience

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