Austria's Eurovision winner JJ says it's "disappointing" that Israel continues to participate in the song contest.
"I would like Eurovision to be held in Vienna next year and without Israel. But the ball is in the EBU's court. We, the artists, can only raise our voices on the matter," the 24-year-old singer told Spanish daily El Pais.
JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, claimed the coveted title with his pop-operatic ballad 'Wasted Love'.
In a nail-biting final round of votes he was pitted against Israel's Yuval Raphael, who finished second with a large amount of public votes.
Israel's participation in the competition has been repeatedly criticised over the last month because of the country's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Even Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has waded in on the row, calling for Israel to be banned on the grounds that Russia was excluded from the competition over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Nobody was up in arms when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three years ago and [Russia] had to leave international competitions and could not take part, as we have just seen, in Eurovision," Sánchez told a news conference in Madrid.
"Therefore Israel shouldn't either, because what we cannot allow is double standards in culture."
Counting controversy
Spanish public broadcaster 'Radio Televisión Española' (RTVE) has requested an audit of the voting system saying it wants to ensure there was no external influence by countries taking part.
Israel received 12 points - the maximum amount - from Spain during the contest.
Other broadcasters have also expressed concern including Ireland's RTÉ, Belgium's VRT and Finland's Yle Entertainment.
In the El Pais interview, JJ agreed there should be "greater transparency on the issue of televoting."
"This year it was all very strange", the classically trained opera singer said. He also backed comments made by last year's winner, Switzerland's Nemo, who has repeatedly called for Israel's expulsion.
"Especially, [Eurovision] needs to make changes in terms of the voting system and who participates in the festival," JJ told El Pais.
Israeli entry Raphael, a survivor of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in 2023, has not yet commented on JJ's remarks.
The 24-year-old singer on Wednesday thanked the Israeli people for their support throughout the contest and her second-place victory.
"We did it!", Rafael wrote on her Instagram account. "I'm still trying to digest all this abnormal thing that happened. I'm probably going to take a while, but I just have to tell you that I've never felt so strong!"
Her song, 'New Day Will Rise', received points from 34 out of the 38 nations voting by phone.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the contest, has said the competition should be politically neutral.
In a statement to Euronews the contest's director, Martin Green, said, "We fully respect JJ’s right to express their personal opinion and understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East.”
