The Israeli public broadcaster (Radio Kan) said on Sunday that Israel had agreed to review the lyrics of a song that might participate in the Eurovision Song Contest after the contest organizers objected to some lyrics that seemed to refer to an attack by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). ) on the seventh of October.
The Eurovision contest will be held this year from May 7 to 11 in the Swedish city of Malmo. Those organizing the contest say that it is a non-political event, and contestants can be excluded if they violate this rule.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Authority is responsible for choosing the song that will represent Israel in the competition.
The song “October Rain” by singer Eden Golan topped the list of nominations to represent Israel in the competition.
The song’s lyrics, which were leaked to the media and later confirmed by Kan Radio, include phrases such as “There was no more air to breathe” and “They were all good kids, every single one of them”, an apparent reference to people holed up in shelters, at a time when Hamas gunmen carried out killings and kidnappings at an outdoor concert and other places, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Radio Kan said that it asked the authors of the song “October Rain” and the song “Dance Forever,” which came in second place on the nominations list, to review the lyrics of the two songs, with their right to freedom of artistic expression.
Radio Cannes will later officially select the song to send to the Eurovision committee.
The European Broadcasting Union, which organizes Eurovision, has not yet responded to a request for comment on Radio Kan’s decision.
Radio Kan said that it agreed to change some words at the request of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
