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Austrian singer JJ, who won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, called in an interview published on Thursday for Israel to be excluded from the 2026 edition in Vienna due to the war on Gaza.

Eurovision, which stresses its political neutrality, faced controversy again this year. An Israeli military campaign has killed over 53,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the enclave’s health authorities say, since Hamas militants’ cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

Pro-Palestinian groups had urged the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Israel from the 2025 contest, yet Israel’s Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 attack, came second. “It is very disappointing to see Israel still participating in the contest. I would like the next Eurovision to be held in Vienna and without Israel,” 24-year-old JJ was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The Israeli embassies in Madrid and Vienna did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. JJ’s management company Manifester Music issued a statement later on Thursday, distributed by his label, Warner Music, quoting him as saying, “I am sorry if my words were misunderstood.

“Although I am critical of the Israeli government, I condemn all forms of violence against civilians anywhere in the world — be it against Israelis or Palestinians. I will not comment further on this issue.”

Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish Religious Community (IKG), the body that officially represents Austria’s Jews, criticised JJ’s comments. “He is joining the chorus of Israel-haters, turning Israeli victims into aggressors and sowing division. This is disappointing but, above all, dangerous,” he said on X.

Though El Pais did not mention the war, JJ’s remarks chimed with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s call on Monday for the exclusion of Israel from cultural events such as Eurovision.

With his song ‘Wasted Love’, the operatic singer — whose real name is Johannes Pietsch — won the contest held in Basel, Switzerland. JJ also said the vote-counting system should be revised to improve transparency.

He was the third Austrian winner of what has become the world’s biggest music competition, watched by more than 160 million people. Israel’s entrant, Raphael, was at the Nova music festival near the Gaza border during the Hamas attack.