A majority of Norwegians, 42.3%, believe that Israel's participation in the Eurovision contest should not affect Norway's choice to participate in the international music competition on May 11 of this year.
This is demonstrated by a recent survey conducted by InFact on behalf of Nettavisen. The survey was conducted on May 2 through spontaneous interviews, with 1,106 Norwegians responding.
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Netavesen also asked in February whether Norway should withdraw if Israel was not banned. Since then, the percentage of those who believe that Israel's participation should have no say has increased somewhat, while the percentage of those who want Norway to withdraw has decreased slightly.
Majority against “no”
In the latest poll, 42% of those who responded said that Norway should not withdraw because of Israel, while 33% believe that we should. 24% answered, “I don’t know.”
In the previous survey, response rates were 38, 39 and 22 percent, respectively.
While there is a small “yes” majority among women, the men who responded to the survey had a clear majority in favor of “no” on the question of whether Norway should withdraw.
52% of men believe that Norway should participate, while 29%, on the other hand, have negative opinions. Among the women who responded, 36 percent believe Norway should withdraw, while 32 percent disagree.
The poll by InFact shows that people in northern Norway are the most negative about Norwegian engagement with Israel.
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Controversial post
Israel's participation in the traditional music competition is controversial due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
In recent months, many have called for them to be banned as a result of the war, and many of the artists who will participate have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Israeli presence. Norway's contribution, GATT, stated, among other things, that allowing Israel to participate was seen as a problem.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), for its part, has been clear that Eurovision is not a political event, and in mid-March they gave the green light to Israel in the song contest.
Due to the conflict, large demonstrations are expected in connection with the Eurovision Final in Malmö, Sweden on Saturday 11 May, and Swedish police have announced extensive security measures.
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