The voting changes, aimed at appeasing some angry member states, are yet another sign indicating the European Broadcasting Union is leaning toward allowing Israel<\/a> to remain in the competition, after it scrapped a vote<\/a>\u00a0planned for this month on the issue.<\/p>\n In a public letter, Eurovision director Martin Green wrote that he hopes the new voting system \u201callows for the Contest to acknowledge the sometimes-difficult world in which we live but resist attempts to turn our stage into a place of geopolitical division.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the new system, the EBU will \u201cdiscourage disproportionate promotion campaigns\u2026 particularly when undertaken or supported by third parties, including governments or governmental agencies.\u201d One of the allegations lobbed at Israel after this year\u2019s contest was over government-sponsored campaigns urging votes for Raphael, although several other countries did the same, and the rules allowed it. The new rules prohibit broadcasters or artists from supporting third-party campaigns.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition \t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n The reforms also include fewer maximum votes per voter, capped at 10 instead of 20. Some broadcasters had complained that Israel supporters were maxing out their support for Raphael, while traditional Eurovision fans were spreading their support around their favorite acts.<\/p>\n Under the new system, the professional juries will also return for the semifinals instead of just the finals, with those also now being decided by a 50\/50 mix \u2014 as they were until 2023. The EBU will also be working to enhance its \u201ctechnical safeguards\u201d to prevent any voter fraud.<\/p>\n \t The EBU said that member states \u201cwill be asked to consider this package of measures and safeguards and decide if they are sufficient to meet their concerns around participation without having a vote on the topic\u201d at its upcoming General Assembly next month. The assembly is also where a final decision will be made on whether Israel will be allowed to participate.<\/p>\n The public broadcasters of some participating countries, including Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands, have pledged to withdraw entirely if Israel takes part in the contest, and several others, including Iceland, Slovenia, and Belgium, have threatened to follow suit.<\/p>\n While the EBU originally announced a vote among all member states on the issue, it scrapped the idea following the ceasefire in Gaza, instead saying that it would now \u201cdiscuss participation\u201d in the contest, and that \u201cfurther details\u201d would be provided later to EBU members.<\/p>\n The controversy over Israel\u2019s participation heavily overshadowed the 2023 and 2024 Eurovision contests, with most international media coverage of those competitions focusing on the efforts to bar Jerusalem by countries outraged at Israel\u2019s war against Hamas in Gaza following the terror group\u2019s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. The subsequent backlash and campaign to drum up support for Israel\u2019s contestants led them to ultimately soar in the public vote.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Israel is moving full steam ahead with its plans to compete, with the newest season of \u201cHakochav Haba\u201d (Rising Star), which traditionally selects the country\u2019s Eurovision entrant, officially kicking off last week.<\/p>\n Neither the hosts nor the judges gave any indication during the show\u2019s kickoff that Israel\u2019s participation at next year\u2019s Eurovision hangs in the balance, discussing instead what kind of singer and song the country should send this year and predicting a win for the Jewish state.<\/p>\n Israel has participated in the song competition since 1973, backing out of only three contests in the past 52 years \u2013 1980, 1984 and 1997 \u2013 when the dates conflicted with Memorial Day or Holocaust Remembrance Day. Israel has won the contest on four occasions \u2013 in 1978, 1979, 1998, and most recently in 2018, with Netta Barzilai\u2019s \u201cToy\u201d \u2014 and has hosted it three times.<\/p>\n
In this season of DocuNation, you can stream six outstanding Israeli documentaries with English subtitles and then join a live online discussion with the filmmakers. The selected films show Israel beyond the conflict: a place of storytellers and musicians, of dreamers, makers, and communities rooted in meaning and trust.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t When you watch DocuNation, you\u2019re also supporting Israeli creators at a time when it\u2019s increasingly difficult for them to share their work globally.<\/p>\n To learn more about DocuNation: The Heart of Israel, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tSinger Yuval Raphael from Israel holds the national flag during a dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, May 16, 2025. (Martin Meissner\/AP)<\/p>\n
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