As the spotlight falls once again on the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, the debate surrounding Israel’s participation has reignited tensions far beyond music. This year, Boy George has stepped directly into that controversy after defending his involvement with San Marino’s entry and rejecting calls for a boycott over Israel’s inclusion.
Boy George argued that his long-standing friendships with Jewish people, dating back to his teenage years, meant he would not “turn away” from them because of the war in Gaza. He also pointed to his history of wearing the Star of David during the height of Culture Club’s fame as evidence of solidarity and opposition to antisemitism.
People are boycotting Eurovision because of the inclusion of Israel, which is engaged in a brutal occupation & genocide of the Palestinian people.
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 12, 2026
Boy George says he won't join the boycott because he has Jewish friends.
Conflating Jewish people with Israel is antisemitic. pic.twitter.com/VWX1T76Hxb
Yet critics are right to challenge the way his comments blur the line between Jewish identity and the actions of the Israeli state.
Judaism is a religion and an ethnicity. Zionism is a political ideology centred on the existence and protection of the state of Israel. The two are not interchangeable. Millions of Jewish people around the world hold differing views on Israel, its government and the occupation of Palestinian territories. Some are deeply supportive of Israeli policy, while others are among its fiercest critics.
To conflate all Jews with the actions of Israel is dangerous because it reinforces the exact stereotype antisemites have pushed for generations — that Jewish people everywhere are collectively responsible for the actions of a foreign government. Ironically, by insisting criticism of Israel risks becoming hostility toward Jews as a whole, public figures can unintentionally strengthen that harmful association.
Equally, opposition to Zionism or criticism of the Israeli government is usually not antisemitic. People may object to military actions in Gaza, settlement expansion, or the treatment of Palestinians without harbouring prejudice against Jewish people. Human rights organisations, international legal experts, and many Jewish activists themselves have voiced such criticisms.
That does not mean genuine antisemitism does not exist within some protest movements. It clearly does and it should always be condemned without hesitation. Abuse aimed at Jewish people because they are Jewish has no place in political activism. But treating all criticism of Israel as antisemitism weakens the meaning of the term and risks silencing legitimate debate.
The controversy around Eurovision shows how deeply polarised the discussion has become. Music and politics have always collided at the competition, but reducing the issue to “supporting Jews” versus “boycotting Israel” oversimplifies a far more complex reality and leads many to suggest that Boy George should have simply refused to comment or commented with much more nous.
