Malta should withdraw from Eurovision if Israel competes, NGOs say

A coalition of NGOs has submitted a formal letter to Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, calling on the government to withdraw from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to compete.

“We want Malta to join the growing list of countries, those being Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and Slovenia, putting pressure on the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Israel from the upcoming edition of the Eurovision Song Contest based on its war crimes against the Palestinian people and the genocide it is currently committing,” the organisations said in a statement.

The letter follows Bonnici’s recent statement insisting that Malta remain a participant in Eurovision regardless of Israel’s involvement.

France has already confirmed it will be participating in next year’s contest, while Spain recently became the first to officially announce it would withdraw from next year’s Eurovision should Israel not be banned.  However, Germany has said it will consider boycotting next year's Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is excluded.

EBU confirmed last month that it will hold an online vote in November that could see Israeli broadcaster KAN expelled from Eurovision 2026.

The NGOs condemned this stance, saying Malta should not “take part in a contest that so easily sweeps war crimes to the side for the sake of entertainment”.

The signatories said that while they welcome the Maltese government’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine, this gesture would remain “merely symbolic and unsubstantiated” unless it is followed by real action against what they describe as “the total annihilation of Palestine and the Palestinian people by Israel”.

The NGOs said that engaging in dialogue with what they called a rogue state like Israel is no longer acceptable. They questioned how much longer Palestinians must continue to suffer and lose their lives under the excuse of promoting dialogue with a government that has shown no interest in peace.

They urged Malta to take a firm stand and make it clear to Israel and the international community that the country will not turn a blind eye to crimes against humanity.

The letter was signed by Moviment Graffitti, Inizjamed, Solidarjetà, Lebanese Advocates, Watermelon Warriors, Ġustizzja għall-Palestina, the General Workers Union, Għaqda għall-Ġustizzja, Ugwaljanza u Paċi, the Embassy of Palestine, Skop, and Kopin.