The Eurovision 2025 winner wants the exclusion of the country that has completed 2 from next year's edition
JJ playing the song “Wasted Love” at Eurovision 2025. Basel, Switzerland, May 17, 2025. Photo: Roman Zach-Kiesling / Water / Profimedia
The Austrian singer JJ, who won the Eurovision 2025 musical contest, launched an appeal, in an interview published on Thursday, to exclude Israel, due to the war in the Gaza strip, from next year's edition, which will take place in Vienna, writes Reuters.
Eurovision, who asserted his political neutrality, gave birth to the war controversies again. Following an Israeli military campaign over 53,000 Palestinians died in Gaza, according to local health authorities, after Hamas militants launched a cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which lost their lives about 1,200 people.
Although propalestinian groups urged the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Israel from 2025 edition, the Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 attack, was the winner of the TV and took the second place in the final standings, after the JJ, notes Agerpres.
“It is very disappointing to see Israel still participating in the competition. I would like the next edition to take place in Vienna and without Israel,” said the 24 -year -old JJ singer, according to the Spanish El Pais.
The Madrid Israel's Embassy did not respond immediately to a comment request from Reuters.
Thanks to the song “Wasted Love”, the Austrian opera singer – on his real name Johannes Pietsch – won the vote of the Eurovision jury at this year's edition held in the city of Basel, Switzerland.
Although El Pais does not mention the war during the interview, JJ's statements resonate with those of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who requested the exclusion of Israel from cultural events such as Eurovision due to the conflict in Gaza.
JJ also said that the voting counting system should be revised in order to improve transparency.
JJ was the third Austrian to win Eurovision, the world's largest music competition, watched by over 160 million viewers globally.
The representative of Israel, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova Music Festival, near the border with the Gaza strip, when the Hamas attack took place.
