This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will not feature a live performance from the Israeli act, who has dropped out of travelling to Turin.
An ongoing strike by the Foreign Ministry has been cited as the reason.
A tweet from the Israeli Eurovision account reads: ‘As of now, due to the Ministry of Foreign affairs strike, that affects the security protocols, the Israeli delegation will not attend the Eurovision in Turin.’
It is currently unconfirmed as to whether they will be able to perform remotely, or if they are withdrawing from the competition completely.
However, a tweet from Kann, the country’s public broadcaster, reads: ‘Due to the strike by the Foreign Ministry, the GSS can not handle the Israeli delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest, and as of this moment, the Israeli delegation will not participate in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin.’
The EBU has yet to comment.
As of now, due to the Ministry of Foreign affairs strike, that affects the security protocols, the Israeli delegation will not attend the Eurovision in Turin.
Michael Ben David was due to perform for Israel with the song I.M at this year’s competition, which is due to take place between May 10 and 14.
If Israel does withdraw, it will be the second country to not perform as planned this year in Turin, after it was announced that Russia will not compete amid the war in Ukraine.
It came amid intense criticism from other countries, including Norway, Finland and Estonia, who called for the EBU to ban Russia’s involvement.
The EBU said the inclusion of a Russian entry – which hadn’t yet been chosen – in this year’s Contest would bring the competition into disrepute.
Ukraine are reportedly still set to travel to Turin to compete in May, following doubts about if they would be able to perform live at the competition.
It was previously thought that their entry, Kalush Orchestra, would perform remotely.
The band said they were ‘doing everything possible to help our country,’ adding that one member of the band was ‘fighting in the territorial defense in Kyiv.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Eurovision and the EBU for comment.
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