Eurovision 2025 winner JJ wants Israel to be left out of the competition next year
Eurovision 2025 ended up being even more absurd and chaotic than anyone could have ever expected. Johannes Pietsich, or JJ, won the competition for Austria, even though according to the voting results, Israel's Yuval Raphael had received more votes than him in many countries. The final decision, though, was in the hands of the jury, and they decided to hand the win to JJ.
Since his win, JJ has spoken about the intense pressure from Israel's Yuval, who was close behind him throughout the race. He has also called for Israel to be boycotted from next year's competition. He told Spanish publication El País, 'I would like Eurovision to be held in Vienna next year and without Israel. But the ball is in the EBU's court. We, the artistes, can only raise our voices on the matter.' The singer is not the only one to speak out regarding this matter, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a press conference that 'nobody was up in arms when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three years ago, and [Russia] had to leave international competitions and could not take part, as we have just seen, in Eurovision.'
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Many have called out the Eurovision organisers, demanding a breakdown of the voting system, as it's unclear how Israel and its representative, Yuval Raphael, received such a high number of votes. For example, Ireland, a country that has been vocal in its criticism of Israel, was one of the biggest voters for Yuval; even Spain reportedly gave Yuval's performance 12 points, the highest by any country. Media publication The Intercept even reported that the organisers muted the jeers and 'free Palestine' chants coming from the audience as Yuval's performance took place.
European Broadcasting Union is currently being bogged down by demands of an investigation into the voting system of Eurovision.
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