‘That’s How the Contest Works’: Critics Rebuke Times’ Israel-Eurovision Exposé

A New York Times exposé accusing Israel of weaponizing Eurovision as a “soft power tool” is being dismissed by critics as all smoke and no fire. “The New York Times just published a 4,000-word investigative exposé on the shocking revelation that countries participating in Eurovision……want to win Eurovision,” remarked investigative reporter Eitan Fischberger. “Congratulations to the Times for uncovering what literally every country involved in Eurovision has understood for decades,” he added. The article, published Monday, reexamines unfounded claims that Israel cheated or manipulated voting in the 2024 contest, in which its candidate, Eden Golan, came second in the popular vote. The strong public showing propelled her to a fifth-place finish overall, despite a weaker jury score.The Times investigation confirms what Eurovision concluded at the time: there was no evidence that Israel used bots or other tactics to manipulate the results.What the article produces as its smoking gun, rather, is the finding that Israel’s foreign ministry spent roughly $800,000 on Eurovision-related advertisements ahead of the Malmö competition. Israel continued buying online advertisements for the 2025 contest as well, where it won the popular vote and finished second overall. The promotional efforts, the article argues, “could have easily affected the popular vote” in countries where voter turnout is low.The piece explains that the Israeli government has focused its attention on the annual event after identifying it as an opportunity “to burnish the country’s flagging reputation and rally international support” through “strong showings by its singers” — and has continued funding ad campaigns in the years since. The article claims that governments are “not supposed to intervene in the voting,” though it notes that advertisements and coordinated social media messaging are not against the competition’s rules. Eurovision, it added, “had not deemed any Israeli promotions from 2024 to be excessive.”A European correspondent for Channel 12, Elad Simchayoff, who says he has covered every Eurovision over the past decade, dismissed the Times piece as an “explosive headline” with “very little in it.”“Israel is hardly the only participating country that treats Eurovision as a PR opportunity,” Mr. Simchayoff wrote on X. He noted that Eurovision’s voting system is “built on voting for a country, not against one” — and while Israel is actively promoting itself, “the audience is voting for Israel of its own free will.” He added: “I can hardly see the scandal. That’s how the contest works.”The article comes one day before this year’s competition kicks off in Vienna. Israel will be represented by 28-year-old singer-songwriter Noam Bettan, who will perform his original song “Michelle.” His path to the Eurovision stage was far from certain as the Eurovision Broadcasting Union faced sustained public pressure to exclude Israel from the competition.Efforts to bar Israel from Eurovision intensified following Hamas’s October 7 attack and the ensuing war in Gaza. Israel’s delegates have also faced harassment from anti-Israel activists in the lead-up to the show and during performances.The issue came to a head in December 2025 when the EBU, which represents public broadcasters from 56 countries, voted to allow Israel to compete in 2026. Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Slovenia — which had pressed Eurovision to oust Israel — subsequently declared they would boycott the contest in protest.Mr. Bettan is not naive to the challenges awaiting him in Vienna. “It’s entering the lion’s den,” he said in January. “But I can say that seeing those few Israeli flags in the audience — you look at that, and you know that you have a whole nation behind you, and you’re their voice. It’s truly a privilege.”

‘That’s How the Contest Works’: Critics Rebuke Times’ Israel-Eurovision Exposé

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