Slovenian broadcaster threatens Eurovision exit over Israel

The Slovenian public broadcaster has called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to respond to concerns about Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest and transparency of the voting or else it will consider withdrawing from the event in the future.

In a letter to members of the EBU executive board, RTV Slovenija director-general Ksenija Horvat called for an open discussion on the transparency of this year's voting and participation policies, raising ethical and public trust concerns, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Unless the EBU takes clear steps and provides "a serious and concrete response to restore trust in the transparency, accountability and values to which the EBU is committed", TV Slovenija will consider withdrawing from future Eurovision events, Horvat wrote.

She had already approached the EBU about the issue last year, when she listed a number of concerns - which, she said, have only grown since then.

"Unfortunately, the response we received did not contain convincing or concrete explanations, nor did it reflect the urgency and seriousness of the matter we are addressing. In the meantime, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories has worsened and public concern - both in Slovenia and across Europe - has increased significantly," she wrote.

The results of this year's Eurovision phone voting "further reinforce the public's mistrust".

"Many viewers in Slovenia and elsewhere have expressed serious doubts about the credibility and transparency of the voting, especially in the political context surrounding the contest. The perception that political interests could influence participation decisions or the final voting results undermined public trust in the EBU's impartiality", Horvat stressed.

TV Slovenija will send specific questions about the transparency of the voting to the EBU in the coming days, she announced.

"We are particularly interested in comparing telephone votes with online votes, as we believe this is essential to restore trust in the integrity of the voting process. As public broadcaster, we have a duty to provide our audience with accurate and verifiable information," Horvat wrote, questioning the need for secrecy around these procedures.

Her letter comes after Belgian and Spanish public broadcasters urged the EBU to thoroughly review the voting system in the Eurovision Song Contest, specifically the public phone voting process amid ongoing concerns regarding Israel's participation in the competition.

Israel's Yuval Raphael finished second at the Eurovision 2025 grand final on 17 May, coming first in the televote. The winner, JJ has called for Israel to be excluded from the competition when Austria hosts it next year.

Before this year's contest, a group of members of the European Parliament headed by Slovenian Matjaž Nemec called on the EBU to bar Israel from this year's song contest over its attacks on Gaza and the West Bank.

A Slovenian pro-Palestinian group backed by more than 50 Slovenian musicians, including some former entrants, also launched a petition urging TV Slovenija to demand that Israel be barred from the contest or else withdraw from Eurovision.