EUROVISION organizers postpone the vote on Israel’s inclusion in the competition next year

The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest have postponed a vote on whether Israel should be allowed to participate in the competition next year.

The European Union for Broadcasting (EBU) said “the latest developments in the Middle East” encouraged him to cancel the virtual meeting to vote on the issue that was scheduled to take place in November.

It says that Israel’s participation will be discussed instead at a December meeting in December, although it is not clear whether a vote will still be held.

Israel’s participation in Eurovision has been confronted with opposition to some other participating countries due to the war in Gaza.

On Monday, all 20 Israeli hostages were released from Hamas in exchange for the return of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. He comes after the truce came into force on Friday.

In a statement, the EBU said: “In the light of the latest developments in the Middle East, the EBU Executive Board (meeting on October 13) agreed that there was a clear need to organize an open and personal discussion among its members on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.”

“Therefore, the Council has agreed to raise the issue of the agenda on its ordinary winter general meeting, which will be held in December, not to organize an exceptional session in advance,” she added.

EBU announced last month He will invite 68 Member States to give their opinion whether Israel should participate in a meeting of the General Assembly in November.

The Austrian national operator Orf, which will host the competition in 2026, said it welcomed the EBU’s decision.

Previously, he urged the countries not to boycott the competition next year in Vienna, with his foreign minister Beat Maine-Rezerger saying that Eurovision and the arts are generally “not the corresponding arenas for sanctions.”

Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands all said they would consider boycotting the competition for next year If Israel was to participate.

The Dutch operator Avrotros said last month would not change its position if the fire in gas was reached.

“If a truce is reached in the near future or the conflict is developing differently, it will not change our position in 2026. We will re -evaluate our participation in the coming years, depending on the circumstances at that time,” a statement said.

The BBC has requested Israel Kahn’s national operator for comment.

In September, she said she should be allowed to participate, saying that it was “one of the long -standing, popular and successful competition participants.”

Israel came second in the most Eurovision song in May, with his act Juval Rafael receiving the largest combined public vote.

However, the inclusion of the votes of the jurors led to the announcement of Austria in the general winner.