The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced on Thursday that in November, it will hold a vote regarding Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Competition. The November date is one month earlier than originally planned.
Kan, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, responded expressing its "firm hope that the Eurovision Song Contest will continue to uphold its cultural and non-political identity."
According to the Israeli broadcaster, the potential disqualification of Israel, "one of the contest’s long-standing, popular, and successful participants - would be especially troubling ahead of the 70th edition of the song contest, which was founded as a symbol of unity, solidarity, and fellowship. Any such move could have wide-ranging implications for the competition and the values for which the EBU stands."
The EBU Statutes stipulate for a good reason that extraordinary decisions of this kind require a 75% majority of the General Assembly - an exceptional majority. Kan stated that it is confident that the EBU will safeguard the contest’s professional, cultural, and non-political character as it marks the historic 70 years milestone of uniting by music.