Israel agrees to change controversial October Rain lyrics ahead of Eurovision 2024
4 March 2024, 10:01
Israel's public broadcaster has requested changes to the lyrics of a song submitted for Eurovision 2024 after some lines were found to reference the October 7 attack.
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Organisers barred the song, performed by 20-year-old Eden Golan, last week over breaking the rules of political neutrality.
Israeli broadcaster Kan had previously pledged not to alter the original lyrics of October Rain - an apparent reference to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
However, Israel's President Isaac Herzog has called upon "necessary adjustments" so that the country can enter the contest.
The broadcaster is in the process of choosing who will represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.
October Rain is the leading song choice, with Dance Forever in second place.
The singers of both songs had both been contacted to "readapt the texts, while preserving their artistic freedom", in a statement sent by Kan.
The statement also added that President Herzog had "emphasised that it is precisely at a time when those who hate us are seeking to repress and boycott the State of Israel" and that the country "must sound its voice with pride".
When October Rain was being assessed by the European Broadcasting Union (BCU), Kan said it had no "intention to replace the song".
A song will be officially chosen to send to the Eurovision Committee ahead of the contest, which will be hosted by the Swedish city of Malmö from 7 to 11 May.
The lyrics, written in English, were published on Kan's website in February and included lines that broke rules of political neutrality.
They include the lyrics: "They were all good children, every one of them" and "Who told you boys don't cry/ Hours and hours/ And flowers/ Life is not a game for the cowards."
It is the reference to flowers that has been deemed significant as it denotes war fatalities, according to Israel Hayom newspaper.
The "good children" lyric is also seen as an apparent reference to the 1,200 people killed after Hamas' October 7 attack.
This is not the first time the BCU has forced lyric changes.
In 2009, Georgia withdrew from the contest after their song, We Don’t Wanna Put In, had obvious references to the Russian President.
For this year’s contest, musicians from other participating Eurovision countries have called upon Israel to be suspended over the war in Gaza, such artists from the Nordics.
Many have pointed out Russia's disqualification after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
However, these calls have been resisted by Eurovision organisers as they say the situation in Gaza is different from Ukraine.
Meanwhile in the UK, the country's representative Olly Alexander has come under fire for his statement calling Israel an "apartheid state" and accusing the country of genocide.
Hamas killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds more in cross-border attacks on 7 October, according to Israeli authorities.
Nearly 20,000 Palestinians, 70% being women and children, have been killed by Israel in the conflict, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Now, the US has stepped up pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire - and for Israel to do more to get aid into Gaza.
It's understood truce talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo are stalled because Hamas won't provide a list of Israeli hostages who are still alive.
