Given that the Israel/Palestine conflict has huge support groups on both sides, it's also plausible that the Israel votes were just genuine, if politically motivated Israel supporters.
But some smells are definitely there.
To get more information about the conflict, I had subscribed to the newsletter of the Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft, one of the largest pro-Israel lobbying groups in Germany. Lo and behold, they sent out a mail to all their subscribers on the day of the final, calling to vote for Yuval, with phone number and everything included. They had done the same thing last year as well.
I'd classify this as a "gray area", as the subscribers of that list would be very likely to be hard-line Israel supporters anyway. However, not all of them would be interested in the ESC or would know how to vote, so it's definitely a form of mobilization. (I assume similar organizations in other countries did the same)
What I found more suspicious is the massive amount of online votes that were given, according to [1]. First, it's remarkable that online votes make up the lion's share of all votes, absolutely dwarfing phone votes. This is even though the show itself still gives the impression that voting is mostly being done by phone.
Also the total amount of online votes seems to have grown much more steeply between semifinals and final than the total audience. That seems to suggest some kind of brigading going on - though it still doesn't say anything about how organized it was.
The starting field was more even than usual I believe. I think 'supporters' might sway things alot when that is the case. And Yuval was alone in her genre while the other were crowded. Maybe the Swiss one too in the same genre?
xg15 · 7h ago
Didn't actually watch it this time, but yeah. From the summary it was sort of hilarious how many countries were suddenly going for "epic opera" type acts, after Nemo had won with that style last year.
"Winner copycat law" is real, apparently.
rightbyte · 7h ago
I of course also didn't watch it.
But I was hearing half the whole thing from another room and I distinctly remember thinking "oh, that normal boring song can win this".
But I am no expert. Just half hearted guessing.
mytailorisrich · 5h ago
It's difficult to assess the "silent majority", too, because of the media and general climate is so monopolized by the so-called "pro-Palestine" side, often in an aggressive way, that it's become even dangerous to voice a different opinion, so people simply don't say anything about the topic.
A case in point is this article and this "controversy" that effectively assumes that people would not vote for the Israeli singer because it would obviously be wrong to, leaving aside what the artist has personally gone through, and perhaps simply the "likeability" of the song.
xg15 · 3h ago
I'd argue that the pro-palestine side has the same perception. Only one of the two sides risks arrest and deportation for protesting.
I'd agree with you if everyone had agreed to leave the ESC as a decidedly unpolitical event - but the Israeli side didn't do that either.
mytailorisrich · 3h ago
In Europe? Certainly not, you're quite safe with public displays of being "pro-Palestine", including safe from police. There is no deportation of legal immigrants in Europe in any case.
On the other hand, you will likely be assaulted if you walk down the street with an Israeli flag or badge, so...
nothercastle · 6h ago
It probably as simple as running a bot with virtual credit cards. Do they even care if the votes are legit as long as the money clears?
Given that the Israel/Palestine conflict has huge support groups on both sides, it's also plausible that the Israel votes were just genuine, if politically motivated Israel supporters.
But some smells are definitely there.
To get more information about the conflict, I had subscribed to the newsletter of the Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft, one of the largest pro-Israel lobbying groups in Germany. Lo and behold, they sent out a mail to all their subscribers on the day of the final, calling to vote for Yuval, with phone number and everything included. They had done the same thing last year as well.
I'd classify this as a "gray area", as the subscribers of that list would be very likely to be hard-line Israel supporters anyway. However, not all of them would be interested in the ESC or would know how to vote, so it's definitely a form of mobilization. (I assume similar organizations in other countries did the same)
What I found more suspicious is the massive amount of online votes that were given, according to [1]. First, it's remarkable that online votes make up the lion's share of all votes, absolutely dwarfing phone votes. This is even though the show itself still gives the impression that voting is mostly being done by phone.
Also the total amount of online votes seems to have grown much more steeply between semifinals and final than the total audience. That seems to suggest some kind of brigading going on - though it still doesn't say anything about how organized it was.
[1] https://escxtra.com/2025/05/19/rtve-asks-for-audit-of-spanis...
"Winner copycat law" is real, apparently.
But I was hearing half the whole thing from another room and I distinctly remember thinking "oh, that normal boring song can win this".
But I am no expert. Just half hearted guessing.
A case in point is this article and this "controversy" that effectively assumes that people would not vote for the Israeli singer because it would obviously be wrong to, leaving aside what the artist has personally gone through, and perhaps simply the "likeability" of the song.
I'd agree with you if everyone had agreed to leave the ESC as a decidedly unpolitical event - but the Israeli side didn't do that either.
On the other hand, you will likely be assaulted if you walk down the street with an Israeli flag or badge, so...