Eurovision Defends Cutting Pro-Palestine Protests From Israel YouTube Clip

Eurovision bosses have spoken out after fans noticed that pro-Palestine protests had been cut from the Israeli act’s performance video on the contest’s official YouTube channel.

On Tuesday night, Israel’s Eurovision representative Noam Bettan sang his entry Michelle during the live semi-finals in Basel, Austria.

During the opening section of his live performance, chants of “stop the genocide” – and, reportedly, “free Palestine” – could be heard coming from the audience.

However, when footage of Noam’s rendition was uploaded to YouTube, it was quickly noticed that Eurovision had removed the audio of these protests.

A spokesperson for the contest told Middle Eastern Eye that this decision was made as they “believe the focus of the Eurovision Song Contest should be on artists and music”.

Earlier this week, a rep confirmed: “[Austrian’s national broadcaster] ORF is broadcasting a clean audio feed live from audience microphones before and during every performer’s song.

“One audience member, close to a microphone, loudly expressed their views as the Israeli artist began his performance, and during the song, which was heard on the live broadcast.

“They were later removed by security for continuing to disturb the audience.”

It was also confirmed that three more audience members had been “removed from the arena by security” for what the EBU and ORF described as “disruptive behaviour”.

BBC News subsequently reported that one of the audience members removed from the arena had “Free Palestine” written across his chest.

Noam also told the BBC that he was “aware” of the protests during his performance, which came as a “little bit of a shock”.

“[I] looked for the flags of the people who love me and want me to do my best, and that really carried me,” he added.

The continued presence of Israel has been a contentious issue for several years now, with many critics calling for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest in solidarity with Palestine.

After it was decided last year that Israel would be invited back to Eurovision in 2026, five countries withdrew from the contest, including “Big Five” member Spain.