The Netherlands has joined Ireland in threatening to boycott Eurovision if Israel is allowed to participate, citing the scale of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The move was announced by Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and air the annual singing contest ahead of its next edition slated for Vienna, Austria in May of next year.
Per ABC News, AVROTROS said in a statement it would not take part in the Eurovision 2026 if Israel participates “given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza”.
The Dutch broadcaster also cited “deep concern[s]” over Israel’s “serious erosion of press freedom” in the region, as well as the government’s “deliberate exclusion of independent international reporting” and the “many casualties among journalists” covering the crisis.
Last month, five Al Jazeera journalists — Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa — were killed in an Israeli airstrike near al-Shifa Hospital, which had become a regular workspace for local and international media covering Gaza’s bombardment.
Elsewhere in its statement, AVROTROS said the Israeli government leveraged its participation in last year’s Eurovision, held in Basel, Switzerland, as a “political instrument”.
The move by the Netherlands comes just days after Ireland also threatened to boycott Eurovision over Israel, with its broadcaster, RTE, saying in a statement that Israel’s involvement in the contest is “unconscionable” given the “ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza”.
RTE similarly mentioned “the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza” in its statement.
Slovenia, Spain and Iceland are also reportedly considering their participation in Eurovision, with the European Broadcasting Union, which owns and operates the contest, issuing a statement amid the countries’ concerns.
“We are still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest,” Eurovision director Martin Green said.
The EBU has given countries until mid-December to decide if they want to participate, with AVROTROS saying it will continue preparing for the contest until it receives a decision from organisers about Israel’s inclusion.
Israel placed second in last year’s Eurovision despite calls for it to be excluded, with Australia’s contestants Electric Fields incorporating a watermelon symbol into their performance in solidarity with Palestine.
The potential Eurovision boycotts come amid broader pressure campaigns by arts organisations in relation to the crisis in Gaza, with a slew of Hollywood actors this week vowing to not work with Israeli film institutions they say are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.
Lead images: Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images
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