The European Broadcasting Union announced Monday that the vote scheduled for November on whether to expel Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest has been canceled. A discussion on the issue will instead take place in December
In its statement, the EBU did not say that the vote was postponed to December, nor did it refer at all to the existence of such a vote. It is possible that this is the organization’s way of backing down—perhaps due to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, or possibly in response to the German chancellor’s warning that his country would withdraw if Israel were expelled.
In recent weeks, Israeli officials have worked behind the scenes with European countries and directly with the EBU to block Israel’s removal. President Isaac Herzog established a special team at the President’s Residence and within the public broadcaster, led by CEO Golan Yochpaz and attorney Ayala Mizrahi.