Austria's European TV champion JJ said it was “disappointing” that Israel continued to compete in the songs.
The 24-year-old singer told Spanish Daily El Pais: “I hope to have Eurovision in Vienna next year. But the ball is in the courtroom of EBU. We, artists, can only raise our voices in this matter.”
JJ, real name is Johannes Peterwith his popular claim to have coveted titlesOpera and folk song “waste love”.
He was against him in the final round of votes on his nails Yuval Raphael of Israelhe won second place with a large number of public votes.
Austrian singer JJ welcomes the kind-hearted people at Vienna Airport after the finals of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel -AP Photos/Denes Erdos
Related
Israel participates in the competition Repeated criticism last month Due to the country's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Even the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez In this row, Israel is called on ban on the grounds that Russia is excluded from competition in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three years ago, no one was in trouble. [Russia] It is necessary to leave the international competition, not as we just saw on Eurovision,” Sanchez said at a press conference in Madrid.
“So, neither should Israel, because what we cannot allow is the double standards in culture.”
Counting disputes
Spanish public broadcaster “Radio Televisión Española” (RTVE) requested a review of the voting system, saying it wanted to ensure that there was no external impact in participating countries.
During the game, Israel scored 12 points from Spain – the highest amount.
Other broadcasters also expressed concern, including RTé in Ireland, VRT in Belgium and Yle Entertainment in Finland.
In an interview with El Pais, JJ agreed that “there should be greater transparency on television issues.”
“It's all very strange this year,” said the classically trained opera singer. He also supported the comments from last year's winners. Black people in SwitzerlandHe repeatedly called for Israel to be deported.
“especially, [Eurovision] JJ told El Pais that changes need to be made based on the voting system and attending the festival.
Yuval Raphael from Israel sang the song “New Day Will Rise” in the finals of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland on Saturday, May 17, 2025. -Martin Meissner/Copyright 2025 The AP. all rights reserved.
Israel enters Raphael, Hamas attacks survivors of the Rising Star Festival In 2023, no comments have been made to JJ's speech.
The 24-year-old singer thanked the Israeli people for their support throughout the competition and for her second place on Wednesday.
“We did it!” Raphael wrote on her Instagram account. “I'm still trying to digest all the abnormal things that happened. It may take me a while, but I just have to tell you that I've never felt so strong!”
Her song “A New Day” will rise, earning 34 points in 38 countries on phone voting.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the competition, said the competition should be politically neutral.
In a statement to EuroNews, the competition's director Martin Green said: “We fully respect JJ's personal opinion and understand the concerns and opinions of the current conflict in the Middle East.”
