Israel’s Eurovision Song Contest performance was met with audible protests during tonight’s (May 12) semi-final.
A member of the audience loudly heckled Israeli entrant Noam Bettan during the introduction to his song ‘Michelle’, shouting ‘stop the genocide’. The protest could be heard for nearly a minute into the performance before it stopped being picked up by microphones.
Israel’s participation in the 70th edition of the competition has been controversial following the ongoing war in Gaza, with broadcasters from the Netherlands, Spain, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia refusing to air the event in opposition of Israel’s involvement.
