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Björk supports Iceland boycotting Eurovision over Israel

Following Eurovision’s decision to include Israel in the 2026 contest, four countries have pulled out. Ultimately, these may not be the only countries to do so, with Iceland set to make their decision on Wednesday 10 December.

Israel in Eurovision now others must ‘Withdraw’

As summarised by the Björk fan account ‘My Name Isobel’:

Björk shared on her social media today an appeal from Icelandic singer Pall Oskar urging the state broadcaster RUV to withdraw Iceland’s particiaption from the upcoming Eurovision, due to Israel being allowed to compete. The call comes after Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Slovenia also announced their boycott.

“The fact that Israel can participate now, after everything that has happened, shows that the EBU is a coward, unable to set limits. We must not be cowards: boycotting is the best way to set boundaries for war criminals,” Pall Oskar stated.

The Icelandic broadcaster is expected to make a decision next Wednesday. In the meantime, RUV’s chairman, Stefan Jon Hafstein, expressed disappointment over the EBU’s decision to include Israel in the competition. In Iceland, representatives for Eurovision are selected through the Songvakeppnin singing contest, usually held in Spring.

Björk posted her support for boycotting the event in Icelandic, which you can translate if you click on the tweet below and select ‘Translate’:

Björk has previously expressed her support for the Palestinians, noting that Iceland have been progressive on this issue:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Björk (@bjork)

Reporting on the four nations who have already pulled out, Charlie Jaay wrote for the Canary:

Russia was expelled immediately after invading Ukraine in 2022, and the EBU removed Belarus in 2021. This came after the union said it had been “monitoring the suppression of media freedom” in the country. Yet when faced with the Israeli regime the EBU has opted for inclusion. This is despite an illegal occupation, and the killing of more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza. 257 of these are journalists, as of December 2, 2025. These double standards are deeply unfair- a sign that the lives of Palestinians are less worthy of action than those of Ukrainians.

She added:

Many believe that by allowing Israel to take part, music is being:

“used as a tool to whitewash crimes against humanity.”

Their inclusion in Eurovision normalises Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians. For years, the presence of Israel as a apartheid, genocidal state in Eurovision has been met with widespread public anger across Europe. This anger reflects deep unease over ‘Israel’s’ unquestioned acceptance into such a high-profile cultural event.

While Israel and Gaza have officially signed up to a ceasefire, Israel continues to violate it, recently murdering two young boys:

Ceasefire aside, Israel has subjected the Palestinians to apartheid conditions for decades, and it remains unclear that this will change even if they stop committing genocide.

Featured image via Freakmighty

By Willem Moore

This post was originally published on Canary.