With less than a month to go until the European Broadcasting Union makes a final decision on Israel’s participation in next year’s Eurovision, host Austria has been pushing publicly and behind the scenes for the Jewish state to be allowed to take part in the song contest.

Meanwhile, Israel is moving full steam ahead with its plans to compete, with the newest season of “Hakochav Haba” (Rising Star), which traditionally selects the country’s Eurovision entrant, officially kicking off Tuesday night.

While the decision on whether Israel will be allowed to remain in the competition is slated for early next month, the EBU has remained mum on how such a verdict will be reached, with signs pointing to the scrapping of a vote by member countries entirely.

Over the weekend, Roland Weißmann, the director general of the Austrian public broadcaster ORF — which is hosting next year’s contest in Vienna — visited Israel, meeting with officials from Israel’s Kan public broadcaster as well as President Isaac Herzog.

According to a Kan spokeswoman, Weißmann’s visit was aimed at “working to ensure that Israel participates in the Eurovision Song Contest” next year in Vienna.

Weißmann told Herzog that “Israel is an integral part of the contest,” according to Kan, echoing comments he and other Austrian officials have made publicly.

The public broadcasters of some European countries, including Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands, have pledged to withdraw entirely if Israel takes part in the contest, and several others, including Iceland, Slovenia and Belgium, have threatened to follow suit.

Last month, Weißmann was quoted in ORF as saying that he was working to convince other participating countries that Israel should compete, adding that Vienna was deploying “diplomacy” and “tact” to bring them around.

He also said that the “financial risk” posed by some countries pulling out of the competition in protest, even a member of the “Big Five” – the five main EBU contributors, which include Spain – “is very manageable. Should one or two countries not participate, it is absolutely feasible.”

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said last........

© The Times of Israel