More than one thousand leading entertainment industry figures have signed an open letter by the non-profit organization Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) to support Israel’s continued inclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Israel has taken part in Eurovision since 1973 and has won four times, but in the past year, following Israeli contestant Yuval Raphael’s second-place finish in 2025, calls for Israel’s exclusion have been growing louder.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) declined to put the question of excluding Israel to a vote in its meeting in December, and five countries – Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain – announced that they were withdrawing from the 2026 Eurovision contest in Vienna in 2026 in response to the fact that Israel will take part as usual.
Some countries alleged that Israel broke the rules in 2025 that led to Raphael winning the audience vote. The EBU investigated and found no wrongdoing, but instituted rule changes in response to criticism of Israel from some of the participating countries.
The initial letter by the CCFP was issued in response to the campaigns calling on the EBU to exclude Israel from the event and urging participating countries and artists to withdraw if Israel takes part.
Entertainment executive Scooter Braun said, as EBU weighed whether to vote on the issue, “Music is a place for unity, not division. It is a language that should always bring us together. Artists should never be discriminated against for who they are, who they love, or where they’re born. These boycott efforts do nothing but distract from the uplifting and unifying power of music – something we need now more than ever.”
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Gene Simmons from the band KISS said, “Music unites people from all backgrounds. It’s the one language that everyone can understand. It’s a beautiful thing and a great way to bring people together. Those advocating to exclude an Israeli singer from Eurovision don’t move the needle towards peace, but only further divide the world.”
Actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik, best known for playing Amy in The Big Bang Theory, said, “After a horrendous, violent attack on Israeli civilians, calls for boycotts and excluding Israeli artists from international events simply because they are Israeli are abhorrent and shameful. Targeting Israeli musicians in this way tarnishes the unifying spirit that is Eurovision.”
Hundreds more entertainment industry leaders have now added their names to the letter, including actors Helen Mirren, Amy Schumer, Liev Schreiber, Mila Kunis, Selma Blair, Julianna Margulies, Ginnifer Goodwin, Debra Messing, Patricia Heaton, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Piven, Tom Arnold, Rebecca De Mornay, Joshua Malina, and Brett Gelman.
The musicians among the signatories include Boy George, Matisyahu, David Draiman, James Maslow, Diane Warren, Jon Ondrasik, Laurent Amir Haddad (France’s representative to Eurovision in 2016), and Noa Kirel, who represented Israel at Eurovision in 2023.
Matthew Weiner, the creator of the series, Mad Men, who took part in the Jerusalem Sessions Global Television Industry Summit in 2025 signed the letter, as did many producers, directors, agents, managers, and entertainment executives, including Haim Saban, Julie Greenwald, Jody Gerson Sharon Osbourne, Tom, Sherry Lansing, Rick Rosen, Ben Silverman David Lonner, Bob Ezrin, Dan Rosen, Gary Barber, Colin Lester OBE, David Zedeck, Troy Carter, Bruce Resnikoff, Amy Sherman-Palladino, and Patty Jenkins.
“We have been shocked and disappointed to see some members of the entertainment community calling for Israel to be banished from the contest for responding to the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” the letter reads in part. “We believe that unifying events such as singing competitions are crucial to help bridge our cultural divides and unite people of all backgrounds through their shared love of music.”
Eurovision was established after World War II as a peaceful forum for international competition. In addition to Israel, a number of countries outside of Europe take part, including Australia. The annual event, which draws more viewers than the Super Bowl, is known for fun and flash, and has a history of being especially welcoming to performers from the LGBTQ+ community. Dana International, the Israeli singer who won in 1998, was the first openly transgender contestant.
CCFP’s chairman, David Renzer, and executive director, Ari Ingel, said: “Across the entertainment industry, we are witnessing an alarming rise in shameful efforts to ostracize Israelis and those who support Israel, actions that do nothing to advance peace or understanding.
These misguided boycott campaigns serve only to deepen divisions and fuel hostility. We stand firmly with industry leaders in rejecting this discrimination in all its forms. Eurovision and other global cultural events should be spaces of unity, creativity, and shared celebration, and not arenas for exclusionary politics.
This open letter sends a powerful and unequivocal message: a broad coalition within the entertainment community proudly supports the Eurovision Song Contest and every one of this year’s remarkable participants, including Israel.”
Noam Bettan will represent Israel this year at the song contest with an up-tempo song, “Michelle,” in Hebrew, French, and English. Viewers from around the world can now vote in the event, as well as audiences from the participating countries.
Founded by entertainment industry executives, CCFP is a non-profit entertainment industry organization composed of prominent members of the entertainment community who have come together to build bridges through the arts, to educate and counter rising antisemitism in the entertainment industry, and to galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel.
It is committed to remaining apolitical and does not stand for any government official or party. More information, including the full text of the letter, is available at the CCFP website here.
Source:
www.jpost.com
