JERUSALEM.- Israel will change the letter of the song chosen to compete in Eurovision to eliminate any expression that could be interpreted as political and thus guarantee their participation, the Israeli broadcasting company (KAN) reported today – March 3.
At first, the public entity threatened to withdraw if the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest did not accept its theme, but in the end it decided to follow the instructions of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who suggested making the necessary adjustments.
“KAN contacted lyricists of the two selected songs, October Rainwhich was chosen in first place, and Dance Foreverwhich came second, and asked them to readapt the texts, maintaining their artistic freedom,” the group explained.
October Rain It does not explicitly mention the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in southern Israel but, according to the media and several Israeli analysts, its lyrics leave no room for doubt.
“Dancing in the storm / We have nothing to hide / Take me home / and leave the world behind / and I promise you this will never happen again / I’m still wet from this October rain / October rain,” says the chorus of the song.
Song submitted to Eurovision
“As soon as it has received the new lyrics, the public broadcaster will choose the song that will be sent to the organizers for approval of Israel’s participation in the contest,” KAN added.
On March 10 the group will announce the chosen song. The 20-year-old Israeli-Russian singer Eden Golan will represent Israel at the pageant, which will take place in May in Malmö, southern Sweden.
Several countries called to veto Israel’s participation in the festival, in protest of the war that its army is waging in Gaza against Hamas, which has already caused more than 30,400 deaths, mainly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health of this Palestinian territory governed by the Islamist movement.
The war was triggered by the attack by Hamas militiamen in Israel, which left at least 1,160 dead, mainly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data.
In 1973, Israel became the first non-European country to be allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, which it has won four times.
Source: AFP
