User76 said:
Not quite so idiotic. Last time I looked, Israel wasn't in Europe.
It's nothing to do with Europe in the geographical sense.
Eligible participants for the Eurovision Song Contest include Active Members (as opposed to Associate Members) of the European Broadcasting Union. Active members are those whose states fall within the European Broadcasting Area, or otherwise those who are members of the Council of Europe.
The European Broadcasting Area is defined by the International Telecommunication Union:
"The "European Broadcasting Area" is bounded on the west by the western boundary of Region 1 (see below), on the east by the meridian 40° East of Greenwich and on the south by the parallel 30° North so as to include the western part of the USSR, the northern part of Saudi Arabia and that part of those countries bordering the Mediterranean within these limits. In addition, Iraq, Jordan and that part of the territory of Turkey lying outside the above limits are included in the European Broadcasting Area."