How Israel Turned Eurovision’s Stage Into a Soft Power Tool
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/47195895
> *Israel’s efforts to influence Eurovision’s vote were broader and started years earlier than previously known.*
> May 11, 2026
> >Last fall and winter, senior Israeli diplomats urgently contacted officials and television broadcasters across Europe to address a delicate, if unexpected topic: the high camp Eurovision Song Contest.
>
> >Broadcasters wanted to ban Israel from Eurovision and threatened to boycott the contest over the war in Gaza. Some even accused the Israeli government of unfairly influencing the results through a mass voting campaign.
>
> >Israel arguably had bigger diplomatic concerns than a pop music competition, even one that reaches 166 million viewers around the world. A United Nations commission had recently accused Israel of committing genocide, which it vigorously denied. And world leaders were recognizing Palestinian statehood, which it had long opposed.
> *Israel’s efforts to influence Eurovision’s vote were broader and started years earlier than previously known.*
> May 11, 2026
> >Last fall and winter, senior Israeli diplomats urgently contacted officials and television broadcasters across Europe to address a delicate, if unexpected topic: the high camp Eurovision Song Contest.
>
> >Broadcasters wanted to ban Israel from Eurovision and threatened to boycott the contest over the war in Gaza. Some even accused the Israeli government of unfairly influencing the results through a mass voting campaign.
>
> >Israel arguably had bigger diplomatic concerns than a pop music competition, even one that reaches 166 million viewers around the world. A United Nations commission had recently accused Israel of committing genocide, which it vigorously denied. And world leaders were recognizing Palestinian statehood, which it had long opposed.