Why is Israel in the Eurovision song contest ---they are not in Europe ?

Although not in Europe, Israel is allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the EBU and did so for the first time in 1973.





The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; French: L'Union Européenne de Radio-Télévision ("UER"), and unrelated to the European Union) was formed on 12 February 1950 by 23 broadcasting organisations from Europe and the Mediterranean at a conference in the coastal resort of Torquay in Devon, England. In 1993, the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT), an equivalent organisation of broadcasters from Central and Eastern Europe, was merged with the EBU.





As of July 6, 2007, the EBU has 75 active members from 56 countries, and 43 associate members from a further 25. Members are radio and television companies, most of which are government-owned public service broadcasters or privately owned stations with public missions. Full active Members are based in countries from Algeria to the Vatican State, including almost all European countries. Associate members aren't limited to those from European countries and the Mediterranean but include broadcasters from Canada, Japan, Mexico, India and Hong Kong, as well as many others. Associate Members from the United States include ABC, CBS, NBC, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Time Warner.





Active members are those whose states fall within the European Broadcasting Area, or otherwise those who are members of the Council of Europe.





The EBU's highest profile production is the Eurovision Song Contest organised by its Eurovision Network. The ability of any country from which there are full members of the EBU to enter this contest leads both to the ever growing number of entries, and the counter-intuitive inclusion of countries, such as Morocco and Israel, which aren't geographically or politically part of Europe. The Eurovision Network also organises the Eurovision Young Dancers competition, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and other competitions for young musicians and screenwriters, which are modelled along similar lines. The countries in the EBU have also often worked together to create documentaries and (animated) children's programming. The first such co-production was the animated series The Animals of Farthing Wood from 1993 based on the books of the same title by Colin Dann. The second animated collaboration was Noah's Island from 1997 and more recently, Pitt and Kantrop. Another important EBU program is Jeux sans frontières.





Also, most EBU broadcasters have a group deal to carry the Olympics and FIFA World Cup (particularly, the games of their country and the Final).





Another annually recurring event is broadcast across Europe through the EBU is the Vienna New Year's Concert.

Why is Israel in the Eurovision song contest ---they are not in Europe ?
Although not in Europe, Israel is allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest because it's a member of the European Broadcasting Union - EBU. (And re the previous answer, a tiny part of Turkey IS geographically in Europe).
Reply:to the person above the person above^^


part of turkey is in europe and the other part is in asia
Reply:Turkey isn't either and nevertheless participates.
Reply:Neither is France. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.