Vienna, May 13 (SANA) Israel’s appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final on Tuesday drew protests and pro-Palestinian demonstrations as criticism over the war on Gaza spilled into the annual music competition.
Audience members were heard chanting “stop the genocide” during Israeli contestant Noam Bettan’s performance, while Palestinian flags were raised inside the venue, according to videos circulated online and local media reports.
Austria’s public broadcaster ORF said four people were removed from the arena for disruptive behavior, including one individual who briefly interrupted the performance near a microphone area.
Eurovision director Martin Green said Israel’s broadcaster KAN received a formal warning after promotional videos circulated online showing Bettan encouraging supporters to cast votes for Israel’s entry, which organizers said breached contest rules.
The protests came amid growing pressure on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes Eurovision, to suspend Israel over the war on Gaza. The EBU has rejected those calls, saying the contest remains politically neutral, despite criticism comparing the decision with Eurovision’s exclusion of Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Amnesty International and U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese renewed calls this week for Israel to be barred from the contest. Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard accused the EBU of applying “double standards” by refusing to suspend Israel.
Separately, The New York Times reported that Israel spent more than $1 million on a government-backed campaign to promote its Eurovision participation and encourage voting during the conflict.
According to the newspaper, Israeli officials and pro-Israel groups coordinated multilingual campaigns urging supporters to cast multiple votes for Israeli contestants. Eurovision organizers later tightened voting rules, reducing the maximum number of votes per viewer from 20 to 10.
Despite the protests and criticism, Israel advanced to Saturday’s final alongside Finland, Belgium and Sweden.
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