The president of RTVE proposes withdrawing Spain from Eurovision if Israel participates in the festival.

BarcelonaSpain no woman truce in Israel. After theSuspension of the Vuelta following pro-Palestinian protestsThis weekend in Madrid, the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, has asked this Monday ban Israel and Russia from all international sports competitions"Until the barbarism stops, neither Russia nor Israel should be involved in any further international competitions," Sánchez argued, calling on sports organizations to consider whether it is "ethical" for Israel to use these platforms to "whitewash" itself. But the Spanish boycott of the Hebrew state will take another step forward tomorrow.

The president of RTVE, José Pablo López, will propose to the board of directors this Tuesday that Israel withdraw from the festival if it participates in the next edition of the competition. This was announced by the TVE program. Straight to the point. RTVE sources predict that the proposal will go ahead: "The president won't propose it if he doesn't have the votes secured; a vote isn't put on the table if it's going to be lost." The RTVE board is made up of 15 members, five of them proposed by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), four by the PP (People's Party), two by Sumar (Sumar), and the rest by Junts, ERC (Electrical and Political Parties), PNV (Basque Nationalist Party), and Podemos, which creates a majority in favor of the boycott. Sources from the governing body consulted by Europa Press emphasized that within the board, there is a "majority" of those who do not see it as "appropriate" for Israel to participate in the competition due to the genocide it is carrying out in Gaza.

If the decision is confirmed (the board meets this Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.), Spain will become the fifth country to announce it is withdrawing from the competition due to Israel's participation. This announcement would follow those of Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Slovenia. Within the Spanish government, several voices have already openly positioned themselves against Spain's participation in the festival, which will be held on May 16, 2026, in Vienna.

Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun has stated that he is "concerned" about Israel's presence at Eurovision: "We must ensure that it does not participate in the next edition," he stated. Urtasun argued that cultural and sporting events "must not whitewash genocide." "Something will have to be done. We saw what happened at the Vuelta," the head of the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service, Óscar López, also stated this Monday, in a less direct tone.

A vote for Israel's participation?

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which manages the event, decided to extend the deadline for countries to confirm whether or not they would participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest until mid-December of this year. Israel's participation in the competition could be put to a vote at the next U4 assembly. Conchi Cascajosa, who was interim president of RTVE from 2023 to 2024, consulted by ARA, doubts that the EBU will veto Israel due to the misgivings of some public television networks, such as Germany. "Germany didn't even want to debate it at the time, and I don't think it will now either; there are historical and geopolitical conditions that make a veto by some countries unfeasible." Cascajosa also wonders if Anna Maria Bordas, president of the EBU Reference Group, which manages the festival, will resign.

Be that as it may, Israel's presence at Eurovision has been criticized by numerous countries participating in the competition. In the last two editions, Israel was the country with the most votes from the public, and was close to winning the 2025 edition. While Israel is allowed to participate, the EBU did ban Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which has prevented it from competing in the contest for the past four years. During that year's edition of the festival, networks such as RTVE launched different messages in favor of peace.

Before the start of the festival, RTVE aired a video—without sound and with white letters on a black background—with a message that read the following: "In the face of human rights, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine." The EBU threatened financial sanctions against public broadcasters who mentioned the death toll of the Israeli genocide, explaining that the festival's and commentator's rules "prohibit political statements that could compromise the contest's neutrality." "Victim figures have no place in an apolitical entertainment program, whose motto, 'United by Music,' embodies our commitment to unity," it stated.

The Spanish Prime Minister then asserted that Israel should not participate in Eurovision, and argued that "double standards in culture should not be permitted." "Spain's commitment to international law and human rights must be constant and coherent, also from Europe," he stated. Former interim president of RTVE, Conchi Cascajosa, countered that the debate must be conducted responsibly and, above all, coherently: "There is a certain hypocrisy. Some parties at RTVE say what they should do, but they are not considering withdrawing from the Oscar race or the Venice Biennale, where there are also double standards."