Austria’s act JJ won this years Eurovision Song Contest. Israel’s Yuval Raphael came second thanks to the public vote.
JJ has now called for Israel to be excluded from next year’s competition. “It is very disappointing to see that Israel continues to participate in the contest. I would like next year’s Eurovision to take place in Vienna without Israel.”
“But the ball is in the court” of the organiser, the European Broadcasting Union he added. “We, the artists, can only express our views on the subject.”
JJ also called for “greater transparency” regarding the public vote, after Israel was propelled into second place. “This year, everything happened in a very strange way.”
Austria’s public broadcaster ORF has distanced itself from JJ’s remarks.