“A personal story can’t be banned from a competition,” she shared with NBC News during a Zoom interview earlier this month. “So you essentially get two for one,” she noted, describing it as a talented singer performing something that resembles “an old French chanson” while the story reveals that the song relates to “both a personal trauma and a national trauma, and the journey of emerging from it.”
Just as Israel participates in various European sports leagues, its inclusion in Eurovision serves as an example of the Middle Eastern nation seeing itself as part of the European cultural community. Press-Barnathan points out that this is a significant “part of the Israeli societal imagination.”
‘Should be a happy occasion’
On Wednesday evening in central Basel, around 200 protesters gathered to call for Israel’s expulsion from Eurovision and an end to the Israeli offensive in Gaza. According to The Associated Press, the crowd, some donning Palestinian flags, marched silently down a music-filled street.
For many critics, Israel’s inclusion in Eurovision is tantamount to accepting its military campaign, which has prompted the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli leaders for “crimes against humanity and war crimes,” charges that Israel denies.
Those pushing for the country to be kicked out of the contest — much as Russia was following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — include former participants, more than 70 of whom signed a joint letter earlier this month.
“It should be a happy occasion that Eurovision is finally in Switzerland, but it’s not,” Lea Kobler, a protester from Zurich in Basel, told the AP. “How can we rightfully exclude Russia but we’re still welcoming Israel?”
Participation in Eurovision has long pushed the geographical boundaries of Europe itself. While the contest started with seven countries in 1956, it has vastly expanded and now includes not only Israel, but countries like Georgia, Azerbaijan and even Australia.
Around the edges of last year’s festival in Malmö, Sweden, protests against Israel’s participation reached a fever pitch. Police scuffled with pro-Palestinian protesters who tried to make themselves heard over the pop music blaring outside the stadium as fans lined up to enter.
This year in Basel, demonstrators were highly visible at the opening ceremony of the contest, with large Palestinian flags being waved in the crowd. There were some boos for Raphael as she walked the carpet, and Israel’s X account posted a video of a pro-Palestinian protester making a throat-slitting gesture at the Israeli delegation.
Brigitte Vogel, a spokesperson for the police in Basel, told NBC News in an emailed statement, “The Cantonal Police is aware of the incident and will draw up a report for the responsible prosecution authorities.”
“By continuing to platform the representation of the Israeli state, the EBU is normalising and whitewashing its crimes,” the letter reads. “The EBU has already demonstrated that it is capable of taking measures, as in 2022, when it expelled Russia from the competition. We don’t accept this double standard regarding Israel.”
Some participating national broadcasters, including those from Spain, Iceland and Slovenia, have also questioned whether Israel should take part. Senior leadership from the Irish broadcaster RTÉ last week met with the EBU to raise its own concerns.
In an emailed statement, the EBU said it “will continue to listen to all members. As we did in 2024, we will have a broader discussion when the Contest concludes with all participating broadcasters to reflect on all aspects of this year’s event.”
More protests are expected when Israel competes in Thursday’s semifinal.
Participation amid criticism, Press-Barnathan says, is a way for Israel to fight against its detractors. “It’s the pushback against criticism, delegitimization, all that stuff.” And for a domestic audience, she said, it’s a way of saying, “We’re still here. You know, we’re not going anywhere.”
Meanwhile, the Swiss hosts may just be hoping that by their refusal to take sides, the contest goes off without too much controversy.
