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The song has already been released before the entry of the already controversial Eurovision Song Contest candidate Israel has been announced under fire. The song “October Rain” is said to be a reference to the October 7 attack by Hamas, which initiated the current devastating war against Gaza. Political messages are not allowed during the Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision organization is currently closely examining the song.
The song is sung by Russian-Israeli singer Eden Golan. She was chosen as Israel’s Eurovision candidate after a talent show in which she sang Aerosmith’s “Don’t Want To Miss a Thing.” This was dedicated to the hostages still in the hands of Hamas. During the performance, Golan was surrounded by empty chairs.
But it is precisely these political expressions that the Eurovision Song Contest wants to stay far away from. If it turns out that the song October Rain indeed also has such a message, Eurovision will reject the song and give Israel the opportunity to submit another song. This also happened with Belarus in 2021. Their second entry was also politically charged, after which the country was no longer allowed to participate.
In the meantime, Israel has reacted furiously to Eurivision’s inspection of their entry. Culture Minister Miki Zohar, from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party, calls the inspection “scandalous” and says it is a “sensitive” song that reflects the feelings of the Israeli people. The Israeli Eurovision Song Contest organizer KAN has already announced that if the song is rejected, it will not submit a second song.
The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Sweden later this year. Earlier, more than a thousand Swedish artists called on Israel not to be admitted to the music festival because of the “humanitarian catastrophe” the country is causing in Gaza. The signatories accuse the organization of the festival of hypocrisy because Israel received an invitation, while Russia and Belarus were not welcome in recent years due to the war against Ukraine.
2024-02-22 20:03:45
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