For the record, the reason 'Israel' is allowed in is because Eurovision isn't restricted to Europe, but to those places within the European Broadcasting Area. All the countries colored on this map are eligible to enter Eurovision:
Iraq and Syria could in theory also enter if they joined the European Broadcasting Union, I believe, but Syria is only an associate member, and Iraq is not a member at all.
And, of course, fuck Kosovo and Palestine.
Plenty of Russia is in Europe, and it's the part where the overwhelming bulk of the population lives (77%). Or, to put it another way, 40% of the European landmass, nearly 4 million square miles) is Russia.
On the other hand, the boundary between Europe and Asia is entirely artificial, and more reflective of cultural/linguistic/ethnic differences than any physical geographic separation. I mean, yes, the Caucuses are technically the dividing line, but based on what? We don't split North America into two continents at the Rockies.
I'm a fan of four continents: Afroeurasia, America, Oceania, and Antarctica.
In my view, these not only work geographically, but they also work as broad groupings from the perspective of history: the Old World, the New World, the Other New World (with Scary Wildlife), and Brrr.