Picture credits: © Alma Bengtsson / EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) aims to keep politics out of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2025, but success in doing so has been limited.
Following the second semi-final, Israel found itself at the center of two controversial situations related to comments made during televised broadcasts.
Complaint over comments on Spanish TV
On one hand, Israeli broadcaster KAN filed a complaint with the EBU regarding comments made during RTVE’s broadcast. The EBU confirmed to the website ESCPlus that it had received the complaint and is investigating the matter.
During the postcard preceding Yuval Raphael’s performance, commentator Tony Aguilar stated: “RTVE has requested a debate within Eurovision about Israel’s participation in the contest. The number of victims of Israeli attacks in Gaza now exceeds 50,000 – among them, more than 15,000 boys and girls, according to the United Nations”.
His co-commentator Julia Varela added: “This is not a request against any country. It is a call for peace, justice, and respect for human rights in line with Eurovision’s inclusive and peaceful spirit”.
Israeli insults toward Armenia
In a separate incident, Armenian communities are accusing KAN11 of insulting the country during its own television broadcast. Israeli commentators reportedly reacted to PARG’s performance with the remark: “I can’t believe we gave «those» people an entire block in Jerusalem. Survivor [Armenia’s song title]: that’s how we feel after watching this song”.
For Armenians, this was seen as an insult to their collective memory, as well as to their cultural, social, and economic contributions to Jerusalem. The official 301 AM Twitter page is demanding an apology from KAN, emphasizing that the Armenian community in the Israeli capital has endured genocide and exile.
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