4 countries pull out of Eurovision contest

Israel’s participation in next year’s song competition sows political discord.

- By JAMEY KEATEN AND JILL LAWLESS

ISRAELI singer Yuval Raphael at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

(MARTIN MEISSNER Associated Press)

Public broadcasters in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia on Thursday pulled out of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after organizers decided to allow Israel to compete, putting political discord on center stage over a usually joyful celebration of music.

The walkouts came after the general assembly of the European Broadcasting Union — a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs the glitzy annual event — met to discuss concerns about Israel’s participation, which some countries oppose over its conduct of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

At the meeting, EBU members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of their contestants, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.

The feelgood pop music gala that draws more than 100 million viewers every year has been roiled by the war in Gaza for the last two years, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.

“It’s a historic moment for the European Broadcasting Union. This is certainly one of the most serious crises that the organization has ever faced,” said Eurovision expert Dean Vuletic. “Next year, we're going to see the biggest political boycott of Eurovision ever.”

Vuletic, author of “Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest,” predicted “tense” weeks and months ahead as other countries contemplate joining the walkout and protests set to overshadow the contest’s 70th anniversary in Vienna next May.