Simon Cowell Cancels Appearance on X Factor Israel

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Simon Cowell has pulled out of being a judge on X Factor Israel, according to Jewish News.

“Simon won’t be going to Israel after all,” a source told Jewish News. “I know it has already been announced that he was one of the judges, but for a number of reasons he just can’t be there in Israel to film the show now. Of course he is bitterly disappointed – but it was a decision he had to take.”

Cowell, who is currently a judge on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, was set to judge the Israeli version of the X Factor, yet has cancelled his appearance due to “his own reasons.”

Reshet, the company that produces X Factor Israel, confirmed the news to Variety, yet did not explain the exact reason. The company also did not clarify if Cowell will be involved in production in another manner.

A representative for Reshet reportedly told Variety that Cowell’s staff “had reached out with ‘legitimate concerns’ over his participation in the show after the recent violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.”

This would have been Cowell’s first appearance on an X Factor other than the United States and United Kingdom versions, saying in December that he could “barely wait to see what the Israelis have to offer.”

Cowell created the original version of the X Factor in the U.K. in 2004, while X Factor Israel first aired in 2013 and has run for three seasons.