Iceland is considering withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest because of Israel

Icelandic broadcaster RÚV is not sure whether it will send an artist and participate in this year's competition. The reason is Israel's disputed participation.

The decision on whether Iceland will send an entry to the international final in Malmö in May is up to the winner. This is what RÚV's president, Stefan Eriksson, says Private channel.

The national final will be held as usual, RÚV reports, but only when a winner is chosen will the channel decide whether it wants to move it to the international final.

The artist will be consulted

Erickson states that they will then enter into a dialogue with the winning artist in order to make a decision.

– There will be comprehensive consultations, says the TV, adding that it will not be clear until mid-March what they will reach.

As with Norway and other countries, there has been a heated debate over whether Israel should be allowed to compete in this year's competition – due to the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Participants who wanted to participate had understandable concerns about the situation in light of the situation in Gaza. These concerns have been conveyed to the European Broadcasting Union, says the Icelandic TV director.

He says that the channel has prepared for the Eurovision contest, and intends to participate.

-But we don't know what the future holds.

Erickson explains that all participants initially aimed to compete internationally.

NRK has received a large number of complaints and inquiries about Israel's participation. Last week, the complaints were discussed at the Broadcasting Council, where opinions were very divided.

Protesters also showed their opposition both in the form of demonstrations before the Norwegian semi-final and during the broadcast.

For its part, the European Broadcasting Union decided that it was out of the question to ban Israel.

– It is a competition for broadcasters, not governments, and the Israel Broadcasting Corporation has been participating for 50 years, the European Broadcasting Union said in a statement last week.

The European Broadcasting Union also states that it wishes to maintain the competition's status as a non-political event that unites audiences around the world through music.

They also say the decision not to ban Israel is in line with Israeli athletes still being in demand at international sporting events.

The EBU has justified Russia's exclusion, while Israel is still allowed to participate, as follows to VG:

Comparisons between wars and conflicts are very complex and difficult. As a non-political media organization, we do not make such comparisons.

According to the EBU, Russia's exclusion is due to “repeated violations of member obligations and violations of attitudes towards the media.”