The National Security Council of Israel has urged citizens traveling to Basel, Switzerland, for the Eurovision Song Contest to avoid demonstrations and refrain from publicly displaying Israeli and Jewish symbols or discussing the Israeli army.
In an alert issued on Thursday, the National Security Council stated that “international events” such as Eurovision “are prime targets for threats and attacks by various terrorist groups.” In recent years, “several terrorist groups have actively worked to carry out attacks against Israelis and Jews both in Israel and abroad.”
The council highlighted that by 2024, “360 anti-Israeli protests and demonstrations were recorded in Switzerland,” adding that it is expected “that these will continue during the competition.”
Therefore, the National Security Council advised citizens to stay “away from these hotspots of fabrication and demonstrations, which may escalate into violence,” as there is concern that “supporters of terrorism or lone terrorists might attempt to blend into a demonstration.”
Citizens were also advised to “avoid attending large events related to Israel that do not offer security protection” and “refrain from sharing details about their location or travel plans on social media.”
Moreover, they should “avoid displaying Israeli and Jewish symbols in public” and “avoid discussing military service or reserve duty, or the security situation in Israel,” in addition to “avoiding posting any related content on social media.”
It is noteworthy that last week, over 70 former Eurovision Song Contest participants, including Salvador Sobral, released an open letter urging the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to exclude the Israeli broadcaster KAN from participation.
The letter was published a week before the start of Eurovision 2025, scheduled to take place in Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 15, and 17.
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Israel’s participation in last year’s Eurovision was heavily criticized due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Before the event, the organization defended that “the Eurovision Song Contest is a competition for public broadcasters across Europe and the Middle East.” “It is a contest for broadcasters—not governments—and the Israeli public broadcaster has participated in the contest for 50 years,” it reiterated.
When asked about Russia’s expulsion from the festival in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine, the EBU explained that the country led by Vladimir Putin “violated its ‘obligations’ as a member and violated ‘the values of public media.'”
This year, the Israeli television station has selected Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attack, as its representative. Meanwhile, Portugal will be represented by the band Napa with the song ‘Deslocado.’
It is emphasized that this year, the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be held from May 13 to 17 in Basel, Switzerland, following the victory of Nemo with ‘The Code’ in last year’s edition.
