Poland should “rethink relations” with Israel and Ukraine after zero points at Eurovision, says opposition

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Two deputy leaders of Poland’s national-conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party have criticised Ukraine and Israel for giving Poland no points at Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest. One even called for Poland to “rethink relations” with the two countries.

Meanwhile, Poland’s Eurovision jury was the only one in Europe to award the maximum 12 points to Israel’s entry at the contest, while a public vote in Poland gave Ukraine full marks.

“The fact that our singer received zero points from both Ukraine and Israel is scandalous,” Tobiasz Bocheński, a deputy leader of PiS, told broadcaster RMF on Monday morning. “It was a purely political vote…It shows the perspective through which we are judged by these nations.”

“I think this should give many people pause for thought about our relations,” he continued. “If our singer receives maximum points from the Germans…and a lot of points from the Austrians, then it turns out she receives zero points from both Ukraine and Israel, then in my opinion, this is reason to think about our mutual relations.”

Meanwhile, Przemysław Czarnek, another of the party’s deputy leaders and its candidate for prime minister at next year’s elections, suggested that Ukraine’s voting showed a lack of appreciation for the enormous support Poland has shown since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“If I were Ukrainian, I would consider appreciating Poland for helping them maintain their independence, for being the first to help them fight for independence, and for the fact that, thanks to Poland and Poles, Ukraine is still fighting today,” said Czarnek, quoted by news website Wirtualna Polska.

PiS, which is now the largest opposition party but previously ruled Poland from 2015 to the end of 2023, oversaw much of the initial military, diplomatic and humanitarian support provided to Ukraine.

The PiS government regularly clashed with Israel, in particular over issues relating to World War Two and Holocaust history. In 2021, it withdrew the Polish ambassador to Israel amid a row over a proposed restitution law that Israel said would harm Holocaust survivors.

The current Polish government finally appointed a new ambassador last year, though it has also regularly clashed with Israel, in particular over the war in Gaza.

Eurovision – which, despite its name, includes the non-European countries of Israel and Australia – is often embroiled in politics. This year’s event, which took place in Austria, was boycotted by Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland due to Israel’s participation.

The contest was won by Bulgaria’s entry, “Bangaranga”, performed by singer Dara. Israel’s Noam Bettan finished second with the song “Michelle”. Polish entry “Pray”, by singer-songwriter Alicja, ended up in 12th place.

The outcome of the contest is decided by each country handing out points to other countries based on both public voting and an expert jury. Twelve is the highest possible number of points and zero is the minimum.

Poland received zero points from the juries and public votes in both Israel and Ukraine. However, the German, Belgian, Moldovan and Austrian juries each gave Alicja 12 points.

By contrast, in Poland’s public vote, the winner was Ukraine, a result that may have been influenced by Ukrainians being by far Poland’s largest foreign national group. Israel’s entry was the eighth most popular, thereby receiving two points.

The Polish jury, meanwhile, awarded Israel the maximum 12 points and Ukraine one. In a social media post, the Israeli embassy in Warsaw gave “special thanks to the Polish jury for the recognition and warm welcome”.

The decision, however, drew criticism from some social media users in Poland, prompting one of the jury’s members, composer Filip Kuncewicz, to hit out in an Instagram post at the “threats and hate” he had received.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Itokyl/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.