Eurovision and Israel: how did conflict in the Middle East end up at the center of the contest?

The singer Eden Golan was selected as Israel’s representative for the 2024 edition of Eurovision. Last Thursday, the 9th, it was classified for the final a few hours after around 12 thousand people protested against Israel’s participation in the festival.

Protesters raised Palestinian flags and posters criticizing Palestine. EBU (European Broadcasting Union)which organizes the Eurovisionoutside the Malmö Arena, in Sweden.

In another neighborhood, on the other hand, dozens of people celebrated Israel’s inclusion in the festival. Benjamin NetanyahuIsraeli Prime Minister, also celebrated the victory of Golan and characterized the protests against his participation as “a horrible wave of anti-Semitism” (via The globe).

In 2022, the EBU prevented Russia from participating in the event due to the war with Ukraine.

Change in lyrics

Golan was supposed to participate in the festival with the song “October Rain”, the lyrics of which were leaked in February. The 20-year-old’s verses would mention the Hamas victims of the October 7 attack.

The song was banned from the competition for allegedly not respecting the rule of political neutrality. Therefore, the president of Israel, Isaac Herzogassured that the song’s lyrics would be modified when contacting the KANan Israeli broadcaster that broadcasts the Eurovision SongContest.

Now, the lyrics of the track — which was renamed “Hurricane” — Golan says: “Baby, promise me you’ll hold me again / I’m still broken from this hurricane” (“Baby, promise me you’ll hold me again / I’m still broken from this hurricane”), instead of “E I promise you that never again / I’m still wet from this October rain.”

Other excerpts, which said: “There’s no air left to breathe” (“There’s no air left to breathe”) and “They were all good children, each one of them” have changed for “No big words / Just prayers / Even if it’s hard to see / You always leave me a small light” (“No big words / Just prayers / Even if it’s hard to see / You always leave me one small light”).

Censorship?

Israel even declared that it would withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest this year if its representative was censored by the organization.

A EBU responded by saying that it was “in the process of analyzing the lyrics, a process that is confidential between the UER and the broadcaster until a final decision is made”. The statement continued: “If a song is deemed unacceptable for any reason, broadcasters then have the opportunity to introduce new music or new lyrics.”

A KAN further returned: “It should be noted that, with regard to Israel Broadcasting Corporation, there is no intention to replace music. This means that if it is not approved by the European Broadcasting UnionIsrael will not be able to participate in the competition, which will take place in Sweden in May.”

Other protests

The contest has been boycotted after allowing Israel to participate. More than a thousand Swedish artists, such as Robyn, FeverRay It is First Aid Kitsigned a letter asking that the country be excluded from the competition because of the war with Palestine.

“The fact that countries that place themselves above humanitarian law are welcome to participate in international cultural events trivializes violations of international law and makes the suffering of victims invisible”, says an excerpt from the letter.

On the other hand, personalities like Sharon Osbourne, Gene Simmons It is Boy George signed a letter that goes in the opposite direction and asks that Israel be welcome in the Eurovision.

“We were shocked and disappointed to see some members of the entertainment community calling for Israel to be banned from the competition for responding to the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Under the guise of thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately at civilian populations, Hamas murdered and kidnapped men , innocent women and children”, reads a letter published by Creative Community for Peace.