Israel's Eurovision contestant told to stay in her hotel room

Monday May 13 2024

Israel's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest has been told not to leave her hotel room other than for performances because of an expected wave of pro-Palestinian protests.

Eden Golan, 20, arrived in Malmo on Tuesday afternoon amid intense security precautions to begin rehearsing for her performance of the ballad Hurricane.

Swedish police have asked for reinforcements from Denmark and Norway and will be more heavily armed than usual for the world's biggest pop competition, which, according to the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan, is overshadowed by "Jew hatred, riots and terror".

In a meeting with Israel's Shin Bet security service, the Russian-Israeli singer is said to have been asked not to leave her hotel room except to perform or to attend official Eurovision events.

Golan arrived in Malmo wearing a yellow pin, symbolising support for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

"As I begin this journey, I'm filled with so many emotions — excitement, anticipation, a little nervous, but most important the desire of wanting to put on the best performance I know I can," she said on Instagram.

In an apparent allusion to the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, she added: "I am honoured and filled with so much pride to represent our country — this song represents us, all of us, including those who are home and aren't — we are waiting for you."

Golan will sing a ballad, Hurricane, after Israel's initial entry, October Rain, was deemed to refer to the Hamas attack of October 7

REUTERS

More than 20,000 people from across Europe are expected to converge on Sweden's third-biggest city to join protests against Israel's prosecution of its war against Hamas.

Police plan to use drone-mounted cameras to monitor the city, which has been plagued by gang violence, challenging Sweden's peaceful image.

Israeli journalists covering the event have pointed out that Malmo had a reputation for antisemitism pre-dating the October 7 attacks.

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In 2010, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish global human rights organisation based in Los Angeles, issued a travel advisory for Sweden "due to harassment of Jewish citizens in the southern city of Malmo". It cited dozens of incidents that had not resulted in arrests or convictions for hate crimes.

Golan does not only face opposition from audiences but also from fellow artists. More than 1,000 Swedish artists called for Israel to be banned from participating and more than 1,400 Finnish music industry professionals signed a petition to ban Israel from the contest.

A group of nine of Golan's rival contestants, including the British entrant, Olly Alexander, released a statement in March expressing their concern over "the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, and particularly in Gaza, and in Israel".

Watch Israel's Eurovision contestants over the years

The organiser of the contest, the European Broadcasting Union, rejected calls to disqualify Israel from the competition.

However, it barred Israel's initial entry, October Rain, on the grounds that it broke rules on political neutrality with its apparent reference to the victims of the Hamas attack on October 7. It included lyrics such as "There's no air left to breathe / There is no place for me" and "They were all good children, each one of them".

Israel initially insisted it would not change the lyrics, with President Herzog calling for "necessary adjustments" to ensure it could take part. But Israel's public broadcaster, Kan, which is responsible for choosing the country's entry, finally agreed to change the song.

The competition starts on Tuesday, May 7, with the first of two semi-finals, and culminates in the grand final on Saturday, May 11.

Given the backlash, commentators doubt whether Golan, the daughter of a Jewish-Latvian father and a Jewish-Ukrainian mother, will be able to hand Israel a fifth Eurovision win.

"Spoiler alert: Israel is not going to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest," the Jerusalem Post wrote. "It doesn't matter how Eden Golan performs, what song she sings, and what message she delivers to the multimillion-viewer audience around the world. She is simply out of tune with international sentiment by the very fact that she is Israeli — and proud of it."