Israeli broadcaster given formal warning for violating rules days before Eurovision begins

Israel’s Eurovision broadcaster has received a formal warning, just days before the contest kicks off in Vienna, Austria.

Participating broadcaster KAN was found to have violated the competition’s voting rules on Friday evening, as several promotional videos appeared on social media sites such as X.

In the clips, Israeli representative Noam Bettan encouraged viewers to use all 10 of their votes on Israel when he performs in the first semi-final on May 12.

The 28-year-old singer, whose song is titled Michelle, recorded the promo message in the languages of Azerbaijani, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian.

Now, Eurovision Song Contest Executive Director Martin Green has confirmed that KAN has been reprimanded.

In a statement shared with Metro, he said: ‘We were made aware that videos instructing viewers to vote 10 times for Israel had been published and distributed by the artist representing KAN.

‘Within 20 minutes, we had contacted the Israeli delegation and asked them to immediately stop all distribution of the videos and remove them from all platforms where they had been published. They did so.’

He added: ‘We will continue to closely monitor any promotional activity and take appropriate steps as necessary.’

In response, KAN reported that the campaign isn’t financed by any particular group, claiming that Eurovision fans are the ones choosing to support their entrant.

They insisted that they would always abide by the rules of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union).

Last November, the EBU implemented changes to the voting rules to ‘strengthen trust and transparency’.

In a major overhaul of the voting framework, the new measures followed extensive consultations after the 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland.

In-depth reviews were carried out in collaboration with participating broadcasters and other event organisers, who offered feedback to help prevent rule breaks and strengthen the voting system.

Green said at the time: ‘We’ve listened and we’ve acted.

‘The neutrality and integrity of the Eurovision Song Contest is of paramount importance to the EBU, its members, and all our audiences. It is essential that the fairness of the Contest is always protected.  

‘We are taking clear and decisive steps to ensure the contest remains a celebration of music and unity. The Contest should remain a neutral space and must not be instrumentalised.’

Green added that, alongside the changes announced, there was a new commitment to ‘strengthening the enforcement of existing rules’ to ‘prevent any misuse of the Contest’, for example, through ‘song lyrics or staging’.

‘We will work closely with members to ensure they fully understand and are also accountable for upholding the rules and values that define the Song Contest.’

In total, there were four changes made. The first was ‘clearer rules of promotion’, forbidding participating broadcasters, such as KAN, and artists, such as Bettan, from ‘actively engaging in, facilitating, or contributing to promotional campaigns by third parties that could influence the voting outcome’.

The EBU stated that ‘any attempts to unduly influence the results will lead to sanctions’.

Secondly, Eurovision bosses reduced the maximum number of votes. For 2026, fans will only be able to vote through phone calls, SMS, or online 10 times, reduced from 20.

‘Fans will be actively encouraged to share their support across multiple entries,’ the changes stated.

Thirdly, the return of professional juries of music experts for the semi-finals was confirmed for the first time since 2022. This creates ‘a roughly 50/50 split between jury and audience votes’ in the final.

The EBU explained that this change ‘is intended to encourage the optimum musical balance and diversity in songs that qualify for the grand final, ensuring that high-quality entries with broad artistic merit are recognised alongside those with popular appeal’.

In turn, the number of jurors has been increased from five to seven, and the pool has been expanded to include journalists, critics, teachers, choreographers, and stage directors.

Each jury must now also include at least two jurors aged 18 to 25.

‘All jurors will have to sign up to a formal declaration to confirm they will vote independently and impartially, will not coordinate with other jurors before the contest, and will be mindful of their social media use,’ organisers stated, which means not voicing voting preferences online before the end of the contest.

Finally, technical safeguards have been ‘enhanced’, meaning the EBU will ‘work closely’ with its voting partner to prevent fraudulent or coordinated voting activity and to closely monitor suspicious patterns.

Green further stated that the new measures are ‘designed to keep the focus where it belongs – on music, creativity, and connection’.

Israel’s involvement in Eurovision has been a point of contention for several years now, which has led many devout fans to boycott the event entirely. It has also resulted in fellow countries, including Spain, one of the Big Five, withdrawing in protest.

Chair of RTVE José Pablo López said in a statement: ‘As joint organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest, we share a collective responsibility. While Israel has regularly participated in the competition, the current events and the genocide currently taking place make it impossible for us to look the other way.

‘It is not accurate to claim that Eurovision is merely an apolitical music festival. We are all aware that the contest carries significant political implications. The Israeli government is equally aware of this fact and leverages the event on the international stage.’

For the past three years, despite outside pressure following the Gaza conflict, the EBU has allowed them to remain in the contest.

This sparked particular fury given how, despite proudly declaring to be ‘apolitical’, the contest banned Russia from taking part in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. This was decided after other participating nations threatened boycotts.

There has been much speculation about why the EBU has refused to ban Israel, including the fact that one of Eurovision’s most prominent sponsors is the Israeli beauty brand Moroccanoil.

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