Just when you think Eurovision has reached its ridiculous peak, its glittering cliches, quirky lyrics and performances make your local karaoke night look even more refined – it's down in 2025.

In the leadership of the game, European activists called on Israel to exclude. 72 former European TV contestants signed an open letter asking Israel and its national broadcaster Kan to be banned. Protests, petitions and campaigns have swept across the continent, urging the game to uphold its so-called “European Unity and Culture” values ​​rather than focusing on a country accused of systematically starving and bombing of two million people.

But European TV did not listen.

Instead, it handed the stage over to 24-year-old Yuval Raphael, a survivor of Hamas's Oct. 7 Attack Rising Star Festival - who won public television in most countries and ranked second, simply because unlike the public, most professional juries like Austria's entry.

Understandably, Israel’s surprisingly near-trophy triggered a wave of rebound. The most vocal population of criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza (such as Ireland) is said to have given Raphael the highest mark, and thus widespread accusations have emerged. National broadcasters in Spain and Belgium filed formal complaints with the European Broadcasting Union, demanding an investigation into potential manipulation of the television system. Meanwhile, the intercepted audio analysis showed that during the live performance of Raphael, the organizers of ETV radiated audience cheers and odes of “Free Palestine”.

After this year's match, Israel's call for excluding European TV networks is greater than ever. Obviously, for many who love Eurovision, whether it is because of its camps, wonders or nostalgia, but also those who care about international law and life in Palestinians, Israel's continued inclusion is a moral failure.

However, I believe that Israel belongs to the European TV network and should continue to participate in the competition. This is why.

On the one hand, Israel's continued participation will reflect the reality of European policy. Despite growing anger, many European leaders have been firmly supporting Israel in the devastating movement throughout Gaza. Despite calls for a reassessment of EU-Israel relations, in much of Europe, it has been doing business.

In February 2025, despite increasing pressure from human rights groups, European foreign ministers met with their Israeli counterparts and insisted that “political and economic ties remain strong.” A few months later, seven EU countries issued a joint statement calling for an end to what they called a "humanitarian disaster" in the Gaza Strip. But if no action is taken, these words will ring.

Europe also said whether this would commemorate the International Criminal Court as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest warrant. Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain said they will comply. As usual, the UK said it was simply “abiding legal obligations under domestic and international law.” Meanwhile, Hungary publicly refused to execute an arrest warrant under Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Among Europe's biggest players (France, Germany and Italy), this reaction ranges from being evasive to being totally dismissive. France claims Netanyahu has been granted immunity as Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court. Italy said arresting him was "unfeasible". Germany's newly elected Prime Minister Friedrich Merz even vowed to find "ways and means" to visit Netanyahu.

Given how European leaders have shown a more passion for the fight against Palestinian solidarity activists than those who hold Israel accountable, it feels fitting that Israel continues to sing and dance on the remains of Palestinian life - working hand in hand with European friends.

But this alliance is not only political. Those who promote it show that it is also cultural, even “civilized.”

Many Western intellectuals have long regarded Israel as an outpost of European values ​​in so-called barbaric regions. After October 7, this narrative is updated with fresh urgency. French public intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy insists that he is a "radical human rights defender", but compared to the usual "other": Russians, Turks, Chinese, Persians and Arabs, Israel - segregation and all. He believes that their empire ambitions pose a greater threat to “civilization” than Israel’s “policy of colonizing the West Bank.” He even praised Israel's "moral perseverance" and considered the concern for civilian life - the words have not yet aged after 19 months of pure massacre.

The book "Israel and Civilization: The Destiny of the Jewish State and the Destiny of the West" by American commentator Josh Hammer is more clear. To him, Israel is the “agent” of the West in areas plagued by violence and Islamic “terrorism”. In his words, those who support Palestinian rights are "anti-US, anti-Western jack wolf." British commentator Douglas Murray echoes the same civilized framework in Democracy and the Cult of Death: The Future of Israel and Civilization, saying that Israel is a bastion of goodness in an evil world.

Israeli leaders also adopted this language. Netanyahu announced shortly after October 7 that “Israel is fighting civilization itself”, urging the West to show “moral clarity.” According to this worldview, Israel not only defends itself—it defends the entire Western civilization.

This sounds like a far cry from a song contest. But Eurovision has been more than just sequins and key changes. This is a prediction of “European sex” and “European”, as a concept, has always been political. It is built on a colonial heritage that sees Europe as an enlightened, ordered and rational Europe - contrary to the so-called backward, emotional and irrational non-European "other".

This legacy proves colonial conquest and violence suppression of anti-colonial uprisings. The Holocaust is the price to restore order. Ethnic cleansing, the mission of civilization. Today, the same narrative relies on the Western framework of Israel’s way – tortured democracy bravely opposes barbarism.

So when people call for Israel to be banned from Eurovision in this year's voting allegations, I can't help but notice that the irony is that its genocide campaign in Gaza has not crossed the European red line - but cheated in a song contest.

If Eurovision is going to expel Israel now, it would be the toughest fine the mainland has imposed on the country - it is not a mass killing, but an intervention in pop music.

So yes - I believe Israel should stay on Eurovision.

After all, Europe and Israel deserve it.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own views and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.