ALGEMEINER
Amid Conspiracy Theories, Eurovision Proves Ordinary People Are Still Willing to Treat Israel Fairly
Micha Danzig
May 18, 2026

For many Americans, Eurovision requires a brief explanation. It is a massive annual international music competition involving dozens of countries across Europe and nearby regions, watched by hundreds of millions of people. And because much of the Arab world boycotted Israel culturally and politically after 1948 — excluding it from most regional sporting and cultural frameworks — Israel was integrated into European competitions instead…The public keeps voting for the Israelis anyway — likely because Israeli entries are often among the competition’s strongest. And because many ordinary viewers probably recoil from the increasingly hysterical effort to turn Israeli artists into untouchables. That effort has increasingly backfired. READ MORE

HEN MAZZIG The Only Night Europe Tells the Truth Here is the thing about Eurovision that the campaign never wanted to admit. The public vote is the most honest political instrument in Europe. No polling bias. No social desirability effect. Just a phone and a button and a private moment of preference. When Europeans were given that private moment, they chose Israel third out of thirty-seven. Despite everything.