Israel to change song lyrics to ensure participation

In order to protect itself from any risk of exclusion from the famous song competition, the Hebrew State will erase anything that could be perceived as political, and therefore likely to be rejected by the organizers.

After a few weeks of controversy, Israel will resolve to modify the lyrics of the song with which it intends to compete at Eurovision 2024, in order to remove anything that could be perceived as political, and thus guarantee its participation, indicated on Sunday the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN).

After initially threatening to withdraw if its song was not accepted as is, the public group said in a statement that it had finally rallied to the opinion of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who “suggested making necessary adjustments.” “KAN contacted the lyricists of the two selected songs, October Rain, who was chosen first, and Dance Forever, who came second, and asked them to re-adapt the texts, while preserving their artistic freedom”, the company continued.

October Rain does not explicitly mention the bloody attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel. But according to Israeli media and observers, his words leave no room for doubt.“Dancing in the storm/ We’ve got nothing to hide/ Take me home/ And leave the world behind/ And I promise it’ll never happen again/ I’m still wet from this October rain / October rain”, says a verse of this song.

The singer already chosen, two titles in balance

Once it receives the amended texts, the public broadcasting company “will choose the song that will be sent” to the organizers of Eurovision, “so that they approve Israel’s participation in the competition”, KAN broadcasting group added on Sunday.

The public group KAN will reveal the chosen song on March 10. Israeli-Russian singer Eden Golan, aged 20, is to represent Israel in this competition which will take place this year in Malmö, Sweden, next May.

Offensive in Gaza: calls to exclude Israel

Several countries have called for Israel to be banned from Eurovision to protest the heavy toll of the war in Gaza, which began on October 7 after the Hamas attack which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, according to a count by the ‘AFP produced from official Israeli data. Israeli military operations carried out in retaliation in the Palestinian territory have left more than 30,400 dead, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

In this context, in mid-February, the organizers had ruled out the idea of ​​banning Israel from the competition, but they had not yet learned of the content of the lyrics of the favorite song in the competition.

Israel was the first non-European country to be allowed to participate in the Eurovision song contest in 1973, and has won four times, including with transgender singer Dana International in 1998.