Israel qualified for Saturday’s Eurovision final on Tuesday night despite a major boycott of this year’s contest by five countries: Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Iceland. The countries withdrew from the competition in protest over Israel’s participation amid the war in Gaza.
Israel’s entry, “Michelle,” performed by Noam Bettan, progressed from the semi-final in Vienna after a performance that drew both applause and audible boos inside the arena.
In Ireland, state broadcaster RTÉ announced it would not air the Eurovision final. Instead, it will broadcast a 1996 episode of the sitcom Father Ted titled “A Song for Europe.”
The episode is a well-known Eurovision parody in which the characters perform the deliberately absurd song “My Lovely Horse” and receive “nul points.”
The scheduling decision drew criticism from Graham Linehan, co-creator of the series, who accused RTÉ of using the programme as “a tool of antisemitic harassment.”
Linehan also called for the resignation of RTÉ Director-General Kevin Bakhurst as political tensions surrounding this year’s Eurovision contest continue to overshadow the competition.
