The Eurovision Song Contest has once again become a lightning rod for political controversy – but this time, not because of the voting.

BBC presenter Graham Norton came under fire from right-wing commentators after a comment he made after Austria won the contest with JJ’s Wasted Love on Saturday (May 17, 2025). He said: “The EBU will have a sigh of relief for not having to have a Tel Aviv final next year.”

The reaction online has been ferocious.

Former GB News presenter Dan Wootton accused Norton and the BBC of “vile efforts” and labelled the broadcaster an “antisemitic shame” to the UK, calling for its defunding.

Joe Porter, a Conservative councillor, called the remark “disgraceful political commentary” and echoed Wootton’s claims.

In reality, Norton’s remark was more likely a practical observation than a political jab.

Given that Tel Aviv exists in a region under constant threat, the logistical and security nightmare of hosting Eurovision there is self-evident.

It’s a straightforward point, not a controversial one – unless you’re looking for reasons to generate outrage.

Just hours earlier on the BBC, an episode of Doctor Who titled The Interstellar Song Contest aired. It featured Norton himself (along with fellow Eurovision personality Rylan Clark-Neal) in a plot about a future song competition disrupted by protesters fighting against the occupation of their planet.

While no overt reference was made to Palestine or Israel, viewers could easily spot the parallels: military occupation, terrorist resistance, and the politicisation of entertainment.

Add to that Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa withdrawing from his role on Eurovision just two minutes after Israel qualified for the final, and a larger pattern emerges.

Is it overt protest? No.

Is it fair to interpret it as a coordinated political statement? Probably not.

But does it reflect the fact that many people – inside and outside the entertainment industry – are deeply uncomfortable with the ongoing war in Gaza and Israel’s role in it? Absolutely.

There are important facts to remember here:

• At least 14,000 children have been killed in Gaza, according to widely accepted figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, which have been used by the UN, WHO, and major human rights organisations for years.
• Israel continues to face growing accusations of genocide from international legal experts and the International Court of Justice.
• Eurovision faced pressure from 70 former contestants to disqualify Israel over its ongoing military campaign.

The BBC, whether intentionally or not, finds itself entangled in all of this.

But to equate criticism of Israel’s military actions, or even discomfort at the idea of hosting Eurovision in a country at war, with anti-Semitism is intellectually dishonest and dangerously reductive.

What the outrage from figures like Wootton and Porter reveals is a desire to shut down any critical discussion of Israel, no matter how mild, by immediately labelling it anti-Semitic.

This not only devalues the real meaning of anti-Semitism, but actively undermines the ability of people to engage in genuine, good-faith debate.

None of this is new.

What is new is the scale.

With even family entertainment like Doctor Who and Eurovision now embroiled in political controversy, we are seeing the limits of silence.

People are speaking out – in fiction, in satire, and, yes, in fleeting comments during a live broadcast.

If the right-wing commentariat want to defend Israel’s actions in Gaza, let them do so with facts and arguments.

But stop weaponising anti-Semitism to silence dissent.

That, not a BBC presenter’s offhand remark, is the real disgrace.