Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused the organizers of the international song contest “Eurovision” in the policy of “double standards”. In his opinion, Israel should be removed from participation in the contest because of the military actions in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.
Recalling that Russia has been suspended from Eurovision since 2022, he added that “nobody was furious” about it then.
“So Israel shouldn’t do it either, because we can’t allow double standards in culture,” Sanchez said confidently.
At the end of the final of the competition, which took place on Saturday, May 17, Israeli representative Yuval Raphael with the song New Day Will Rise came in second place. Moreover, Israel was the leader of the audience vote, and the Spaniards gave the Israeli singer the maximum 12 points along with 12 other countries. Spanish broadcasting network RTVE requested an audit of the votes after the prime minister’s words.
Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amihai Shikli reacted to Sanchez’s words. He wrote on social media that the vote was a “slap in the face” to the Spanish prime minister, “which we heard here in Jerusalem.”
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