Israel’s Eurovision Contestant Was Booed At The Semi-Final Rehearsal But Will Still Compete In The Final
A few moments into Eden Golan's performance, the audience erupted in boos, with several people chanting, "Free Palestine."
Israel’s Eurovision contestant's semi-final dress rehearsal was met with boos and calls for "Free Palestine" from the crowd.
Videos on social media showed 20-year-old Russian-Israeli singer Eden Golan performing her entry, "Hurricane," during Eurovision’s Song Contest’s Jury Show in Malmo, Sweden, on Wednesday May 10.
A few moments into her performance, the audience erupted in boos, with several people chanting, "Free Palestine."
From the very beginning, organizers of the international singing competition had faced calls from several countries to ban Israel from competing due to its war on Gaza.
However, despite multiple petitions and threats of boycotts, Eurovision still allowed Israel to compete, despite banning Russia from competing in 2022 over its invasion of Ukraine.
Initially, Israel entered the competition with a song called 'October Rain’, which referred to Hamas’ October 7 attack.
However, Eurovision, which calls itself a non-political event, asked Israel to change the song due to its political references or face disqualification.
Israel then entered the competition with the song “Hurricane,” which tells the story of a woman going through a crisis.
In response to the public backlash during her dress rehearsal performance, Golan released a statement saying,, “I am proud to represent my country, particularly this year.
“I am receiving support and love and I am determined to give my best performance tomorrow in the semifinal and nothing will deter me from that goal!,” she added.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed support for Golan in a social media message, congratulating her for “successfully facing an ugly wave of anti-Semitism” and “representing the State of Israel with great honour.”
"So what a blessing, and know that when people yell 'boo' at you, we shout 'hooray,” he said in a video message in Hebrew.
Despite the negative reception, Golan advanced to the finals of the competition in the second semi-final on Thursday.
The same day, tens of thousands of people held a mass protest through Malmö’s city center to protest against Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza and its ongoing invasion of Rafah.
Since Oct. 7, Israel’s attacks and relentless bombarding have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the competition's organizers issued an apology a few days earlier after Sweden’scontestant Eric Saade wore a keffiyeh on his arm to compete, as it "compromised the non-political nature of the event."
Later, Saade shared on his Instagram story that the scarf typically worn by Palestinians, was "just my way of showing a part of my origin... I got that keffiyeh from my dad when I was a little boy, to never forget where the family comes from".
Sofia Hou
Kassy Cho
