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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team<\/a> and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Poland\u2019s culture minister has said that she hopes her country will not participate in next year\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is permitted to take part.<\/p>\n Israel has competed in Eurovision since 1973, and this year its entrant, Yuval Raphael (pictured above), finished in second place. However, officials from a number of countries have suggested they would boycott next year\u2019s event if Israel takes, part due to growing concern over its actions in Gaza.<\/p>\n During an interview with broadcaster Tok FM, Polish culture minister Marta Cienkowska was asked what she thinks public broadcaster TVP, which oversees Poland\u2019s Eurovision participation, should do.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we shouldn\u2019t participate in Eurovision if Israel takes part,\u201d she replied, though emphasising she was \u201cgiving my personal opinion, not as a minister, but as a human being\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is with a very heavy heart that I watch what is happening in that part of the world,\u201d added Cienkowska. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to have fun [at Eurovision] in this context.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 Minister kultury i dziedzictwa narodowego, Marta Cienkowska dla Radio TOK FM:<\/p>\n “Powiem swoje osobiste zdanie, nie jako ministry ale jako cz\u0142owieka \u2013 uwa\u017cam, \u017ce nie powinni\u015bmy bra\u0107 udzia\u0142u w ESC je\u015bli b\u0119dzie w niej uczestniczy\u0107 Izrael. Po prostu. To jest moje osobiste zdanie. pic.twitter.com\/qKtfi7TtIl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 eurowizja.org (@eurowizja_org) September 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands are among the countries that have threatened a boycott of next year\u2019s Eurovision, which takes place in Vienna in May.<\/p>\n They note that Russia was expelled from the event after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and suggest that Israel should receive the same treatment for its actions in Gaza.<\/p>\n The Dutch public broadcaster, AVROTROS, last week issued a statement saying that it \u201ccan no longer justify Israel\u2019s participation in the current situation, given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n It also \u201cexpressed deep concern about the serious erosion of press freedom\u201d by Israel and also accused the country of \u201cinterference\u201d in this year\u2019s Eurovision, which Israel \u201cused as a political instrument\u201d in violation of the event\u2019s apolitical nature.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n However, on Saturday, Germany\u2019s culture minister, Wolfram Weimer, criticised those calling for a boycott, saying that \u201cexcluding Israel goes against [Eurovision\u2019s] fundamental\u2026to bring nations together through music\u201d and \u201cturns a celebration of understanding between peoples into a tribunal\u201d.<\/p>\n Austria\u2019s foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, likewise said that \u201cexcluding Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest or boycotting the event would neither alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza nor contribute to a sustainable political solution\u201d, according to a letter seen by Reuters.<\/p>\n France and Australia \u2013 which has taken part in Eurovision since 2015 \u2013 have also confirmed their participation, while the head of Israel\u2019s public broadcaster, Golan Yochpaz, said that his country had no intention of withdrawing from the event.<\/p>\n \u2018Founded to bring nations together\u2019: Germany slams calls to bar Israel from Eurovision https:\/\/t.co\/St83GmSMcq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) September 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Poland\u2019s government has recently become more vocal in its criticism of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, as reports of a humanitarian crisis in the territory grow.<\/p>\n In August, foreign minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski accused<\/a> Israel of using \u201cexcessive force\u201d and called on it to \u201crespect international humanitarian law\u201d in its \u201coccupation\u201d of Gaza and the West Bank, saying that \u201cno one has the right to cause children to starve\u201d.<\/p>\n Soon after, Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared<\/a> that, while \u201cPoland was, is and will be on Israel\u2019s side in its confrontation with Islamic terrorism\u201d, it would \u201cnever [be] on the side of politicians whose actions lead to hunger and the death of mothers and children\u201d.<\/p>\n Poland has also filed complaints to Google<\/a> about YouTube videos published by the Israeli embassy in Warsaw that it says are spreading \u201cmanipulated or false content\u201d about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n “No one has the right to cause children to starve,” Poland’s foreign minister has told Israel.<\/p>\n “Even when Israel acts in self defense, it is still not exempt from respecting international humanitarian law\u2026[as] the state occupying Gaza and the West Bank” https:\/\/t.co\/CTGgdxnLaH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Notes from Poland \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 (@notesfrompoland) August 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Main image credit: Quejaytee\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (under CC BY 4.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of\u00a0Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including\u00a0Foreign Policy,\u00a0POLITICO Europe,\u00a0EUobserver\u00a0and\u00a0Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team<\/a> and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6s83J95K_400x400.jpg\")
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