[France24] The Eurovision song contest turns 70 this year, but the celebration threatens to be overshadowed by the competition’s biggest ever boycott over the continued inclusion of Israel.
The 2026 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating two notable milestones – not only is it the event’s 70th birthday, but it also features the lowest number of competing countries in two decades.
Among the delegations gathered in Vienna for the grand final on Saturday, May 16, five competition regulars will be absent, with Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain all boycotting the event over the inclusion of Israel.
Officials from Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE said in April that it would not participate as the contest’s stated mission of neutrality had become “impossible to maintain”.
"No one raised an eyebrow when Russia was required to leave international competitions and not participate in Eurovision after the invasion [of Ukraine],” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies in Gaza, added in May.
"We cannot allow double standards, not even in culture."
“It certainly is a rather challenging situation for the organisers of the contest this year,” said Dean Vuletic, historian and author of ‘Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest’.
“This should really have been a huge party, but in the end, we're seeing fewer participants than ever since 2003.”
‘UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT’
Eurovision describes itself as a non-political event and performances that contain political messages are not allowed under the competition rules.
But critics say the organisation’s continued inclusion of Israel – which has been accused of committing war crimes including genocide in Gaza – is a political gesture in itself.
“It puts the organisers under the spotlight, and makes people ask what they are doing and how they are thinking,” said Christina Oberg, a professor at Sweden’s Linnaeus University and author of several studies on geopolitical tensions and Eurovision.
Geh’ mit Gott, aber geh’, as the Germans say when they’re being polite..
Opposition to Israel’s inclusion began in 2024, with the competition falling six months after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched extensive ground operations in Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
By May 2025 – as ground operations and aid blockades in Gaza continued – calls for Israel to be excluded from the competition grew. They have reached a fever pitch this year, amid new Israeli military operations in Iran and Lebanon.
But anger against the Eurovision organisers may be misplaced, said Vuletic. “The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is not a political organisation. It's a technical association of National Public Service broadcasters, and it doesn't have a political mandate to act.”
The decision to exclude Russia from the Eurovision since 2022 over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine was straightforward, as all members of the EBU had shown a united front in imposing international sanctions on Moscow.
“But when it comes to Israel, Europe is divided over how it should respond to Israel's military actions,” Vuletic added. “For the European Broadcasting Union to make a decision against Israel, it needs a majority of its members to support such a decision, and we're simply not seeing that.”
‘PLAYING POLITICS’
This year, Israel will be represented by Noam Bettan with a song called "Michelle" that was co-written by last year's entrant, Yuval Raphael, and features a chorus in French.
In 2025, Austria won the competition overall, but Raphael, who is a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attack, won the public vote for Israel in the grand final, sparking accusations that the competition was rigged.
In response, Eurovision organisers in November announced a series of reforms to the voting system, such as capping the number of votes per voter at 10.
But, regardless of what happens on stage, Oberg expects a similar dynamic this year, with a strong result for Israel in the public vote tempered by a low score from the competition judges. “Which side is playing politics is difficult to say,” she said.
Spain’s boycott of the competition is significant as it is one of the “big five” countries – along with France, Germany, Italy and the UK – whose public broadcasting services make the largest financial contribution to the production of the competition and, as such, are guaranteed a place in the final.
Should more of the big five join the boycott, it could destabilise the competition financially. It could also raise broader questions about “where we are with the initial idea that led to the Eurovision, to bring collaboration and peace to Europe after the Second World War”, Oberg said.
Given that, the desire by some to expel the only Jewish member is extra significant. Congrats, guys - like the meme says, you are the baddies.
Although she added that some countries may find it easier to quit than others. “It would never happen in Sweden because Eurovision is such a big deal for us.”
In fact, given the competition's politically chequered history, it seems unlikely that this year’s boycotts will dent the competition's reputation too badly.
As far back as 1969, Austria boycotted the Madrid final to show its opposition to dictator Francisco Franco. More recently, Moscow hosted the competition in 2009, in a seeming endorsement of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
“Eurovision has been through many political crises, and it has weathered them all,” said Vuletic, who believes the politics of Eurovision adds to its overall appeal.
“One of the reasons why the contest is so engaging because we like to see how it reflects political issues,” he added. “It is a contest between countries, so it reflects international relations alongside expressing cultural diversity.”
Fans seem to agree. Tickets for this year’s nine final events in Vienna sold out in record time with spots for the grand final snapped up in just 14 minutes.
“To see every single show sell out so quickly is a powerful reminder of what the Eurovision Song Contest represents - joy, togetherness and shared experience at a time when that feels more important than ever”, said Eurovision’s director, Martin Green.
Life lesson: don’t start wars Allah has demonstrated he does not want you to win. The count keeps climbing, but the Arab score is still zero.
Hundreds of cartons of specialized poisons, 20 tons of pesticide reported delivered in conjunction with US-led Coordination Center, as warm weather and tent city sewage attract rodents
Israel said Thursday that it was working to help counter rat infestations in Gaza, helping move hundreds of cartons of rat poison into the territory as the warmer weather sees a surge in pests spreading through the tents of displaced Palestinians.
COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that coordinates Israeli activity in Gaza, said on X that it was working with the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center “to manage sanitation efforts in the Gaza Strip.”
“Yesterday, for the first time, hundreds of cartons of specialized pesticides for rodent and rat control were transferred. This was delivered alongside an additional 20 tons of pesticides and pest-control equipment,” COGAT said.
“Over the past few weeks, we have coordinated the entry of approximately 110 tons of pesticides in partnership with aid organizations and the international community,” COGAT added.
Contaminated water and refuse has accumulated near the tent cities where many Gazan families sleep, cook and wash, and aid groups have warned this gives rodents and parasites a unique environment to spread.
Meanwhile, Gazans have reported being bitten and having their few remaining belongings gnawed at by rats.
Following ongoing dialogue with the international community and our partners to address emerging needs on the ground, COGAT is working closely with the CMCC to manage sanitation efforts in the Gaza Strip.
According to the local World Health Organization representative, there were around 17,000 rodent and ectoparasitic infection-related cases in Gaza so far this year.
According to a recent report by the World Bank, United Nations and European Union, Gaza’s medical system — already strained before the war by shortages of equipment and specialization — was severely damaged amid the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught and remains far from recovery.
During the war, Israel accused Hamas combatants of hiding command centers inside and beneath hospitals, but said the army took measures to minimize harm to civilians when operating in or near medical facilities.
According to the report, fewer than half of hospitals and less than 38 percent of primary healthcare centers are even partially functional today.
As of September 2025, at least 41,844 Gazans are estimated to be living with conflict-related, life-altering injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation, according to data collected by the World Health Organization, which includes information gathered by medical teams in the Strip and from Hamas-run health authorities.
Rebuilding the health system is estimated at a cost of $10.03 billion in the report.
#5
I’ve read that historically the Palestinians mixed the nails and bolts in their suicide bombs with rat poison. It’s a blood anticoagulant, so those merely wounded might slowly bleed to death in the hospital instead of dying immediately. If we see an uptick in suicide bombs, we’ll know where it came from.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Anhar Kochneva
[REGNUM] Three loud explosions rocked the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya.
Dahiya is where Hamas lives.
The attack was allegedly carried out by an Israeli ship.
A similar attack—from the sea—was carried out in Beirut during the assassination attempt on high-ranking members of Hezbollah's military wing on April 1. That time, the targets were several vehicles being transported away from a secret meeting.
The target of the latest strike, carried out at 8:00 PM on May 6, was a multi-story residential building. According to the Israeli side, it housed a military operations headquarters. Three rockets fired at the building destroyed apartments on the six upper floors. The target was Malek Ballut, the head of Hezbollah's special forces, the so-called "Radwan Forces. "
The Israelis have already reported his elimination. According to them, the shelling of the residential area was carried out with the logistical assistance of the United States. His deputy was killed along with Ballut.
Some Shiite sources claimed that the immediate target of the assassination attempt had survived, but party officials soon confirmed the deaths of their comrades. According to Lebanese media, the attack killed two people and wounded seven. Most of them were complete strangers, what the US cynically refers to as "collateral damage."
The Haret Hreik neighborhood in Dahiya is particularly favored by Israeli air forces and is the most frequently bombed neighborhood. This is because various offices of the "Party of God" (as Hezbollah translates) were officially located in the neighborhood, and many influential members bought or rented homes near their workplaces.
The area also housed the infamous bunker where Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was located at the time of the assassination attempt, which the Israelis used around 80 tons of explosives to kill him on September 27, 2024.
He’s really, most sincerely dead…
Hezbollah is an official political party, but it has a military wing. The party is predominantly Shiite, although its ranks also include representatives of other religious denominations. It is the largest Shiite party in Lebanon, surpassing its direct competitor, the Amal Movement, in membership and support.
Immediately after the bombing, gigantic traffic jams formed at the exits from Haret Hreik and the surrounding areas: residents who had returned to their apartments after the agreement on a temporary ceasefire were once again forced to become refugees.
For about three weeks, the situation in Beirut's southern suburbs was generally relatively calm. People had a chance to recover. Since April 8, when the city was literally drenched in blood by Israeli airstrikes, there had been no further strikes until recently. Therefore, many, despite the ongoing risks, returned to their apartments.
People who had been forced to live in open-air tents for long periods of time were especially eager to travel to neighborhoods previously subjected to massive bombing. Warm weather has been elusive in Lebanon, and heavy rainfall makes living in unsuitable conditions a torment.
Meanwhile, the Israeli "halt" turned into more than 220 strikes by the IDF on Hezbollah infrastructure over the 20 days of the ostensible ceasefire. Most of these strikes occurred in southern Lebanon.
Villages in the Tyre and Nabatieh provinces were bombed particularly intensively. In most cases, civilian objects, primarily residential buildings, were targeted.
In addition to continuing bombing, Israel continues to bulldoze and mine entire villages. Lebanese media and blogs report that a number of settlements have simply ceased to exist.
WHAT ARE THE "RADWAN FORCES"?
The Radwan Forces, whose leaders were killed on Wednesday, were created in 2008. Their full official name is Fawj Haj Radwan, or the al-Haj Radwan Regiment. Al-Haj Radwan is the pseudonym of Imad Mughniyeh, a prominent figure in the Lebanese resistance to the Israeli occupation who was killed in an assassination attempt in Damascus on February 12, 2008.
Syria subsequently became the unit's training ground. Among the towns liberated from anti-Assad forces with its help was the city of Al-Qusayr in Homs province, through which, according to the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, "the road to Jerusalem lies." Some analysts believe this statement has some basis in fact: it was in Syria—and in Al-Qusayr in particular—that the skills needed by Shiite special forces for the anticipated battles in northern Palestine were honed and reinforced.
The unit's key missions include: infiltrating Israel (especially the north of the country, including the Galilee); conducting reconnaissance operations using unmanned aerial vehicles; organizing ambushes and raids; conducting precision strikes and sabotage; and providing Hezbollah with the capacity for large-scale offensive operations.
Although it's virtually impossible to find official information about which units of Hezbollah's paramilitary wing are currently inflicting significant damage on the IDF in southern Lebanon, the pattern of their operations is quite recognizable. At least a number of them are being carried out by the "Radwan Forces."
Therefore, Israeli intelligence is paying particular attention to eliminating the leaders of this unit. However, as the Lebanese themselves insist, these assassination attempts are unlikely to yield any significant benefits due to the specific structure of the armed resistance forces.
The units operating on the ground in border areas are not linked to a unified command and are not coordinated from above. All possible courses of action and tactics are studied and honed by the fighters long before the fighting begins. The units fight autonomously, receive no orders from the center, and are unfamiliar with their colleagues in other units. Therefore, the risk of harm to all units at once is minimal.
However, all these features, as well as “collateral damage,” do not stop Israel from continuing to bomb residential areas of Lebanon during preparations for a new round of negotiations.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
