Pedro Sánchez has declared that “Israel should not participate in Eurovision” during an act on the impact of culture on the Spanish economy held today in Madrid. The president of the Government has reasoned that Israel should be excluded from participating in sports or cultural competitions, as was Russia when Ukraine invaded. Sanchez aligns with the critical sector that accuses Israel of bleaching his military offensive in Gaza through culture. For the leader of the PSOE, in the culture “we cannot afford double standards.”
Sanchez has specifically referred to the presence of Israel in Eurovision, held this weekend, and in which Israel has stayed at the gates of victory thanks to Televoto. Spain was one of the 13 countries that gave Israel the maximum score, 12 votes.
“Nobody threw his hands in his head when three years ago Russia was demanded by Eurovision, and Israel should not participate either,” said Sánchez has backed “those who use the culture to defend values that can be put in question, such as democracy,” or who use it to “claim quality public services, denounce sexist behaviors, demand a commitment to the environment or ask for the war in Ukraine or in Palestine ».
Sanchez has reiterated “Spain’s commitment to international legality and human rights” and has stressed the importance of this commitment to be “constant and coherent.” Finally, he has sent “a solidarity hug to the people of Ukraine and Palestine, who are living the unreasonableness of war and bombing.”
The Eurovision edition of 2025 has been marked by the Threat of Fine from the URU to RTVE for its comments on the Gaza War during the second semifinal. The commentators, Tony Aguilar and Júlia Valera, remembered the number of dead on Palestinian soil while presenting the song of Israel, an action that, under the criteria of the UU, has been able to compromise the principle of neutrality of the contest. At the beginning of the issuance of the Grand Final, RTVE projected a message of solidarity with Palestine, in which he pointed out that “silence is not an option.”
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