Israel threatens to withdraw from Eurovision with song under “scrutiny” for alleged Hamas attack reference

nme.com:

Eurovision Song Contest if the organisers attempt to censor their entry.Earlier this month, Israel selected the 20-year-old Eden Golan as their entry for this year’s contest.

Her song is titled ‘October Rain’, and, as first reported by Israel Hayom (via BBC), the lyrics appear to contain references to the victims of Hamas’ October 7 attacks.The words to the song were leaked to the media earlier this week, and are said to include the line: “They were all good children, each one of them”.

It also alludes to “flowers”, which has been noted as a potential reference to war fatalities.In response, the European Broadcast Union, which organises the contest, has said it is “currently in the process of scrutinising the lyrics, a process which is confidential between the EBU and the broadcaster until a final decision has been taken.

If a song is deemed unacceptable for any reason, broadcasters are then given the opportunity to submit a new song or new lyrics.”The broadcaster that carries the contest in Israel, KAN, has said that it would refuse any request for the lyrics to be changed.“It should be noted that as far as the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation is concerned there is no intention to replace the song,” they said. “This means that if it is not approved by the European Broadcasting Union, Israel will not be able to participate in the competition, which will take place in Sweden next May.”The selection of Golan came in the midst of the contest receiving backlash and boycott calls after allowing the country to compete.