26/03/2024
Sky News reports that the President of the State of Israel has intervened in a growing row that threatens to overshadow the Eurovision Song Contest this May, an event that is prominent in many LGBTQIA+ people's calendar. “I think it’s important for Israel to appear in Eurovision, and this is also a statement because there are haters who try to drive us off every stage,” Isaac Herzog said on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported. Allegations have been made to the European Broadcasting Union, which is the federation of public service broadcasters such as the BBC in Britain and RTE in Ireland, which stages the competition each year. These allegations are that Israel's song violates strict neutrality rules by referencing the current conflict in the Middle East. According to the Israeli newspaper, Hayom lines in the song include, “There’s no air left to breathe”, and “They were all good children, each one of them”. The song also refers to “flowers”, which the newspaper said was a military code for war fatalities. The EBU has rejected a call made by some artists that Israel should be ejected from this year's contest over what they see as a one sided invasion of Gaza. However, the Israeli public broadcasting station KAN which oversaw the selection of the song by Eden Golan, called "October Rain", says that they are not prepared to change the lyrics, which raises the possibility that Israel may not compete in the event, this year held in the Swedish city of Malmo. The Guardian added "Israel has won the competition four times, most notably with transgender singer Dana International in 1998."
