Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for Israel to be removed from the Eurovision Song Contest, comparing its participation in the contest to Russia’s expulsion after it invaded Ukraine.
Sánchez criticized what he called a “double standard,” arguing that Israel should not be allowed while Russia remains banned. The Spanish Prime Minister ended his remarks by expressing solidarity with both the Ukrainian and Palestinian people.
Sánchez’s statements come after Israel’s Yuval Raphael [a survivor of the October 7th massacre at the Nova Music Festival] took second place in this year’s contest. Receiving the most audience points, Israel garnered 297 points from the public across Europe while only receiving 60 from the judges.
Perhaps Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is just mad that Spain came in 24th place.
His call to expel Israel from Eurovision echoes Spain’s own historical expulsion of the Jewish people in 1492, when an entire people were cast out based on identity and politics.
Just as the Spanish monarchy once scapegoated the Jewish people to appease public sentiment and consolidate power, today’s rhetoric risks repeating that injustice under the guise of moral posturing.
Targeting Israel in a cultural arena mirrors the same exclusionary mindset that fueled centuries of Jewish persecution in Spain.
