One step before the siege of Israel

Developments surrounding his involvement are rapid Israel At Eurovision 2024, which will be held in Malmö Sweden Next May.

Certain so far sharing Israel music competition He is in dangerThis is after the developments that emerged today.

It is noteworthy that in the context of preparing for the Eurovision competition, the Israeli Public Radio and Television Corporation decided to choose a representative for it through a musical show known in Greece as Rising Star.

the Aden Golan He won all stages of the show, and in the final he won the votes of the jury and the audience.

According to Israeli media, the song was chosen by the Israeli Public Television Committee for the competition Golan In Eurovision 2024 it is “October rains”A piece about its events October 7Something he created Significant disturbance in EBUWhich organizes the musical institution.

It is noteworthy that despite the pressure and rumors witnessed in recent months, it has finally been completed The European Broadcasting Union did not exclude Israel from Eurovision 2024, a move that angered a large segment of fans.

Israel is regularly listed among the 37 countries scheduled to participate in Eurovision 2024 and many have wondered why this was done ever since. Russia was expelled from the EBU after the invasion of Ukraine.

The position taken by the European Broadcasting Union on Israel's participation in Eurovision 2024

Since the Gaza invasion began, there have been few people who have contacted the EBU Excluding Israel From Eurovision 2024.

The European Broadcasting Union has taken a position on the issue, stressing that: “The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition for public broadcasters from across Europe and the Middle East. It's a competition for broadcasters – not governments – and Israel's public broadcaster has been participating in the competition for 50 years. The EBU is a member-led organisation. The EU's governing bodies – led by the Governing Council – represent the members. These bodies evaluated the list of participants and determined that the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation complied with all the rules of the competition. Along with 36 other channels, they can participate in next year’s competition.”

“For now, there is an inclusive stance towards Israeli participants in major competitions. The Eurovision Song Contest remains a non-political event, uniting audiences around the world through music.”The European Union announced.

Now the European Broadcasting Union is threatening to ban Israel

According to the news site YnetThe European Broadcasting Union is examining this possibility Excluding the song submitted as an entry by Eden GolanIt also contains Political messages.

Since the piece is political, according to EBU regulations, it cannot participate.

After that, Israeli public television held an emergency meeting during which this was decided They will not change the lyrics or choose another trackEven if it means Israel will not participate in Eurovision 2024.

According to Israeli media, the song chosen by the Public Television Committee is “October Rain,” a song that refers to the song “October Rain.” Hamas attack In Israel on October 7, 2023.

The song is written with English lyrics, except for two sentences in Hebrew.

Protest facts: Iceland opened “dance”

The protests against Israel's participation began very early, on 12 December 2023, when the Society of Composers and Songwriters of Iceland officially opposed Iceland's participation in Eurovision 2024 unless Israel was excluded.

On Monday, December 18, demonstrators gathered in front of its offices From Icelandic public broadcaster RUVCalling for the exclusion of Israeli participation from Eurovision 2024. About 100 people gathered in Reykjavik in front of the RUV headquarters, chanting pro-Gaza and anti-Israel slogans. One of his main demands was for Israel to be excluded from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in May in Malmö.

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time that Iceland has expressed its discomfort regarding issues related to Israel. In 2019, there was opposition to holding the competition in JerusalemBut the country's representatives themselves that year made a political statement at the time of announcing their results on the night of the final.

But the organizers of Eurovision 2019 (after the protests in Tel Aviv) insisted that it was a neutral competition, without any political overtones. What happened on stage completely refuted them.

Tensions rose between Israelis and Palestinians during the live broadcast of the final, as representatives of Iceland and members of the Hatari band raised scarves in Palestine's colors while broadcasters announced their TV results.

Earlier, Madonna also took a side in the controversy. During the Queen of Pop's performance, two dancers carried the Israeli and Palestinian flags on their backs. Both the European Broadcasting Union and Israel reacted strongly to this move, but Madonna had already sent the message she wanted.

Watch the clip at minute 8:50 of the video below:

The position of other countries on Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024

Calls to boycott Eurovision 2024 began IcelandState television did not issue any statement regarding holding the final match at the national level, as it has done in recent years.

The stick was taken before IrelandWith around 500 emails reaching state-run broadcaster RTE, demanding the immediate withdrawal of support and participation in Eurovision 2024 if Israel is allowed to compete. RTE was quick to respond, saying the country was unlikely to withdraw from the competition, adding that Ireland had always approached the event in the spirit in which it was founded, namely as a non-political competition aimed at uniting audiences and bringing people together through a shared love of music and entertainment.

Then it was the turn of this year's actor United kingdomOlly Alexander, to stand publicly in favor of the liberation of the Palestinians, does not hesitate to talk about genocide and at the same time calls for solidarity with the Palestinian people. In particular, the British representative signed a letter, which, among other things, stated that Israel “Apartheid regime”.

in Norway Many performers at MGP 2024, the show that selected the country's representative for the year, were under pressure that if they did not express a clear stance against Israel, they would be boycotted by the audience.

in FinlandMore than 1,400 artists demanded that Israel be banned from participating in this year's song competition. The artists say that if Israel is not excluded from the competition, the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation (Yle) should boycott the competition and refuse to send a Finnish entry.

The petition signed by the Finnish artists said, among other things: “It is not in line with our values ​​for a state that commits war crimes and continues to carry out military occupation to appear on stage.”

On the other hand, the Danes It decided to express a clear position against calls to boycott Israel. “The conflict is sad and certainly more complex. There are endless opinions and nuances about this conflict, because as we know it has been around for a long time, even longer than the Eurovision Song Contest. Over the years, different countries have participated in Eurovision while at war.” “This did not prevent the European Broadcasting Union from holding the competition, and we Danes supported it and will do the same now,” reads the official position of state television.

Finally, Israel has its support European Parliamentwith the Sabine VerheyenChairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee, to issue a statement opposing any attempt to boycott Israel in the music competition.

In particular, Verheyen stated in mid-January on com.euobserver He is against any boycott against Israel and its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. He said, among other things, that “the citizens of Israel have the right to live without terrorism, fear and violence.”

Greece's position on calls for withdrawal because of Israel

After contacting him News 24/7 With the ERT on December 21, it became clear that Greece has no intention of withdrawing its participation From the 68th Eurovision Song Contest due to Israel's participation.

In particular, Head of the Eurovision 2024 Project and Director of Corporate Communications at ERT, Ms Shiraki gifts He mentioned in this regard: “To date, no official request has been submitted to the European Union to ban Israelfrom any participating country, as happened, for example, with Russia. There is nothing at the official level. “If there is, it will be discussed.”