They couldn’t resist breaking the rules lmao, but face no consequences, besides being mad about it
Israel has threatened to withdraw from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest if organizers decide to reject its entry amid wider calls for the country’s exclusion over its military campaign in Gaza.
The European Broadcasting Union is currently reviewing the lyrics of Israel’s entry, a song called “October Rain” by Russian-Israeli singer Eden Golan, which is thought to reference the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. If the EBU decides Israel has breached its rules by submitting content deemed political, the body will allow it to submit new lyrics or a new song.
Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation earlier said it has “no intention to replace the song” if it is not approved, warning that it will pull out of the contest scheduled for May in Malmö, Sweden. Israel’s culture minister has stated that while the song reflects “the current public sentiment in Israel these days,” that doesn’t make it “a political song.”
Israel became the first non-European nation to compete in Eurovision in 1973, and has since won the competition four times.
read more: https://www.semafor.com/article/02/27/2024/israels-controversial-eurovision-song-entry
These polls are misleading because they ignore many factors. Yes, it’s true middle easterners are less likely to proclaim support for LGBT (and that’s what the link you provided prices). In Europe (and particularly Eastern Europe), there’s the issue of rampant hate violence against LGBT, often even by their own family. This is pretty rare in the middle east. I would consider this a more important issue than that poll reveals.
This isn’t to say the middle east is an LGBT paradise in any sense at all. I still acknowledge it is a homophobic place. Those who are publicly LGBT will unfortunately face rejection and ostracision by society, and most LGBT only keep it secret except to trusted friends and family. Moreover, some middle Eastern governments go after LGBT activists and influencers. I think this doesn’t happen much in Eastern Europe anymore (I didn’t check every country so I may have missed some).
In the end, it’s not all black and white. Two homophobic nations may still handle and express their homophobia differently, and homophobia may not always be the issue on top of mind. The LGBT cause is not something that’s top of mind in the middle east like it is in the west, and in the times where it does come up, it is often about a stupid conspiracy theory of the west trying to force LGBT on them, rather than something internal.