Israel has not yet finally chosen its song for this year’s i. However, Eden Golan has been the country’s favorite for several weeks. However, the singer and the national broadcaster present subsequent versions of the song, which the European Broadcasting Union rejects as “political”. The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, spoke.
Eurovision 2024. Israel with a political song
A few weeks ago, Israel presented Eden Golan as its representative in the upcoming competition. The singer was supposed to perform the song “October Rain”. However, the song directly referred to the October massacre committed by Hezbollah, which was later met with the cruel pacification of the Gaza Strip by Israel. The political tone of the song and all.
Due to the protests, the European Broadcasting Union suggested changing the song to an apolitical one. The Israeli broadcaster bowed only to internal political pressure. The necessary changes were demanded by the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, who in an interview with public television stated that Israel’s presence at Eurovision is crucial:
“President Herzog emphasized that at precisely this time when those who hate us are trying to boycott and repress us, Israel should speak out with pride, hold its head high and raise its flag in every world forum,” the Israeli broadcaster, responsible for selecting the national broadcaster, explained in a statement representation.
The lyrics of the song were already going to be changed. In the original version, there were words about “good children, every single one”, “who told you that boys don’t cry / the hours pass / and flowers / life is not a game for cowards” – “flowers” directly called in the Israeli narrative there are war casualties on the side of Israel. Regardless of the fact that “October Rain” will undergo changes, the Israeli broadcaster KAN announced that it will not submit “October Rain” to Eurovision, but the song “Hurricane” by the same singer. Whether it will be accepted as appropriately apolitical – we will find out in the coming days.
Eurovision 2024 has never been apolitical
The European Broadcasting Organization, the organizer of Eurovision, maintains – to put it mildly – double standards towards Israel. In previous years, there was no doubt about whether to remove Russia from the competition. The aggressor in the war beyond our eastern border will most likely not be allowed to enter the competition again for the next dozen or so years. In the past, there was also pressure on individual countries that submitted political songs (in 2009, Georgia withdrew from the competition after being told that the song “We don’t wanna Put In” would not pass – protested by pro-Russian organizations at the time).
This year, the situation in Israel is being taken into consideration. This country has been present at Eurovision since 1973. In its war against Palestine, however, it is both a victim (the Palestinian Hezbollah attacked in October and killed over 1,100 people) and an aggressor. In response to the Hezbollah attack, Israel attacked the Gaza Strip – over the last five months, over 25,000 people have been killed there (the latest data is up to 30,000), and over 60,000 have been injured. International organizations speak directly about genocide against the Palestinian population.
However, the European Broadcasting Union maintains that Israel’s situation is completely different from Russia’s in the case of the war in Ukraine. This year’s event will take place in May in Malmo, Sweden.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
