The Slovenian public service channel RTVSLO writes in a letter to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that they will consider their participation if the EBU does not provide "serious and concrete answers concerning Israel's participation from an ethical perspective". They also want to see increased transparency regarding the telephone voting.
RTVSLO's CEO Ksenija Horvat writes that she requested similar explanations already last year and that the situation in Gaza has since deteriorated, and that the result of this year's telephone voting in the Eurovision final has fueled the public's mistrust that political interests could influence the final result of the voting.
Belgian, Irish, and Spanish program companies have also urged the EBU to carefully examine the voting system and the public telephone voting in particular.
The Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Hamas attack in 2023, came in a surprising second place in this year's Eurovision Song Contest thanks to the public's votes. Israel received low jury votes in several countries, but won the total viewer vote.
