The decision not to broadcast the iconic competition is “not any message against Jewish people,” but a “message against Netanyahu’s state,” the president of Slovenia’s broadcaster told POLITICO.
National broadcasters from Slovenia, Ireland and Spain will not air the Eurovision Song Contest this week, following through on their historic boycott of the music competition over Israel’s participation.
Slovenian viewers will instead enjoy a series of films, documentaries and other shows under the theme “Voices of Palestine,” shedding light on people’s stories and the context of current events in the Middle East.
“We have a whole week [of TV, radio and digital content] and we are showing the Israeli activists who fight for the rights of the Palestinians,” Natalija Gorščak, president of the Slovenian broadcaster’s management board, told POLITICO.
She underlined that the decision not to participate or broadcast Eurovision is “not any message against Jewish people,” but a “message against [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s state, and the politics of what Netanyahu is doing.”
Five countries chose not to participate in this year’s Eurovision contest if Israel competed, saying their decision is based on Israel’s war in Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis it triggered.
Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people in Israel, a large majority of whom were civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
The attack prompted a major Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them civilians, displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s population and destroyed wide areas. The ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump in October 2025 led to the release of the remaining 20 Israeli hostages.
The boycott brings the number of countries taking part this year to its lowest in more than two decades, and has plunged the song contest into an existential crisis.
Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE has confirmed it won’t air the contest, and neither will Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ.
The Irish broadcaster will instead air an episode of Father Ted on Saturday night — the comedy show follows two Irish priests as they try to write a song to gain the honor of representing Ireland in a Eurovision-esque show.
The Netherlands and Iceland have also withdrawn from this year’s Eurovision because of Israel’s participation, but both plan to air the contest.