Iceland Calls to Expel “Israel” from Eurovision for War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

Iceland’s public broadcaster RÚV has notified the European Broadcasting Union [EBU] of Foreign Minister Thorgardur Kathrin Gonnarsdottir’s view that "Israel" should be barred from the Eurovision Song Contest because of its military campaign in Gaza.

Iceland is the third country, after Slovenia and Spain, to approach the EBU on this matter. In an interview with the Visir newspaper, Gonnarsdottir said, “As an ordinary citizen, it strikes me as strange and unnatural that 'Israel' is allowed to participate in Eurovision, given the war crimes and in fact ethnic cleansing that have occurred in Gaza over the past weeks and months.”

Echoing Spain’s public broadcaster, the minister urged an open debate among Europe’s national broadcasters over "Israel’s" inclusion. However, she made clear that Iceland should still compete if the contest goes ahead. “I think Iceland should participate if the competition is held but we need to examine the issue and act within the EBU regarding 'Israel’s' participation,” she said.

RÚV’s Eurovision delegation spokesman, Rónar Freyr Gíslason, said the broadcaster had delayed formal notification until they received an explicit government position. “We said such positions should come from government ministries. Now a clear stance has been delivered and we have informed our colleagues at the European Broadcasting Union,” he said.

The EBU has consistently rejected calls to exclude "Israel", insisting Eurovision is a contest of public broadcasters not governments and must remain politically neutral. Broadcasters in Iceland, Spain and Slovenia counter that if neutrality is the rule they should be permitted an open discussion rather than having the EBU impose a verdict.

At a press conference ahead of the contest, Ksenija Horvat, a senior official at Slovenia’s national broadcaster, reaffirmed her December appeal for "Israel’s" exclusion.

“My position has not changed since last year. I continue to call on the EBU to explain why some are treated as more equal than others,” she said, citing the contrast between the handling of Russia and “Israel”.

“In a democratic world, we should be concerned about the ongoing horrors in Gaza which cannot be separated from Eurovision. Calls for discussion among member states are growing stronger. Will the EBU listen? I don’t know but I do know that wars and the suffering of civilians are unjust and not only are we allowed to condemn them but it is our duty to do so.”

Slovenia’s Eurovision 2025 representative, Kalman, declined to weigh in. “This is not my fight at the moment. My job is to present the song in the best possible way. Anything else I do will be pointless and ineffective,” he said.