A few weeks after Eden Golan’s victory in the final of ‘the next star’ and her choice as Israel’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest (which will take place this spring in Sweden), the Israeli song was officially revealed. The song, “October Rain”, was written and performed in English, but its content is Israeli and reflects an experience that many have (and still do) undergone since the outbreak of the war in Hamas:
“The History Writers
Stand by me
Look into my eyes and see
People go, but they never disappear
Someone stole the moon tonight
Took my light
It’s all black and white
Who is the fool who told you
Boys don’t cry…
We will die, but love will never
Hours and hours and flowers
Life is not a game for cowards.
We have nothing to hide
Take me home
And left the world behind
And I promise you, never again
I’m still wet from the October rain
The rain of October…
There is no place where I am from day to day
They are all good kids, one by one.”
In recent days, it has been reported that the European Broadcasting Union is considering disqualifying the Israeli song because of its alleged political content. This is an unusual move that was rarely performed in the history of the competition, when even songs that were quite political (such as the winning song in 2016, giving the geopolitical context) being disqualified; and what’s more – the Israeli song is not about politics but about life itself, pain and hope. If the reports are true, then this is an outrageous and discriminatory decision, and the public broadcasting corporation has already announced that the State of Israel insists on standing up for itself: Another song will not be sent. If this song is disqualified, Israel will consider itself excluded from the competition as a whole, with all that it implies.
At the beginning of the war, it was widely believed that Israel’s chances of winning the contest were particularly high, as a sign of political identification from many countries; but with the progress of the war, it seems that this option is no longer probable, and now the concern is more about security arrangements for the Israeli delegation and preventing protests at the time of the performance. Anyway, one thing is certain: It’s a good thing Noa Kirel didn’t win last year with ‘Unicorn’. At least we were spared the complex of trying to work the contest in the shadow of war, with all its consequences and expenses.
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