The debate over Israel’s presence in the Eurovision Song Contest is officially over, according to the competition's director, Martin Green.
In a newly published conversation with Variety, Green addressed the ongoing friction surrounding the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) decision last winter to retain Israel in the musical showcase. When questioned about whether the organization might hold a secondary vote on the matter, Green dismissed the possibility completely.
"No, that’s done. The membership spoke conclusively. Almost 70% made their decision that they believe that public service broadcasters are not responsible for the actions of their government, and that [Israeli broadcaster] Kan should be allowed to participate," Green stated.
The director also pushed back against external scrutiny regarding the integrity of the contest's voting outcomes. He was asked about a report from the New York Times suggesting that Israel - which has achieved top-five finishes for three consecutive years - might be influencing the public vote. Green revealed that the EBU had previously run an internal investigation into the matter but found no red flags.
"We reviewed everything earlier. Unfortunately, I thought it was just a sort of rehash of lots of bits and pieces," Green said regarding the allegations.
Defending the current system, he emphasized that the auditing process uncovered no irregularities during the most recent broadcast.
"We had a fully validated vote again this year. We saw no evidence of undue large scale paid promotion, we saw no evidence of anything untoward in our voting at all. We know that the availability of [the audience each] being able to vote 10 times doesn’t make any difference to the outcome," Green explained.
Looking forward to the upcoming production cycle, Green remained tight-lipped about whether the nations that skipped the event in protest of Israel’s participation would consider making a comeback.
"To be fair, even if we knew that we’d keep that to ourselves because it’s their story to tell and I would never speak on their behalf," he commented.
Furthermore, Green indicated that the event is not currently anticipating any fresh pushback or walkouts from other participating broadcasters, noting he was "not that I’m aware" of any impending country-led boycotts.
Despite many calls for Israel to be boycotted, the EBU voted against barring Israel from participating in this year’s contest which was held in Vienna. Israeli singer Noam Bettan clinched second place in the contest - marking the second year in a row that the country has secured the runner-up spot.
Spanish broadcaster RTVE, which boycotted Eurovision because of Israel's participation, displayed a message on screen: "The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition, but human rights are not. There is no room for indifference. Peace and justice for Palestine."
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)