[strollfan]

The problem here is that they banned Russia due to EBU violations, so this was an easy out for them. Isreal hasn’t violated anything with the EBU.

If they ban Isreal then it sets a precedent for banning countries every time there is a political conflict. This goes against the ethos of the contest.

They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

They did not ban Russia for EBU violations, their statement announcing the removal said "in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s Contest would bring the competition into disrepute." The removal of the broadcasters from the EBU followed shortly after, but they were separate actions.

www.ebu.ch