NEW YORK (Dagbladet): Russia was thrown into the Eurovision cold after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the same time, the organization has rejected demands that Israel should also be excluded as a result of the war in Gaza.
Closes the door
However, it does not appear that the country has any plans to withdraw from this year’s competition. On Tuesday evening, Israel chose Eden Golan, as the artist who will represent the country during the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May, reports Jerusalem Post.
– This year, more than ever, I am happy to represent my country on the biggest stage in Europe. I promise to do my best and bring the Eurovision contest to Israel in 2025, she says in a statement on the website of Eurovision.
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Vant med Aerosmith
Besides representing Israel, she also has ties to Russia. She and her family moved from Israel to Russia when she was six years old, and they moved back two years ago.
Golan gets to represent Israel after she won the talent competition “The Next Star” with a cover version of the Aerosmith song “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. When she performed the song one more time after winning, she dedicated the song to the Israeli hostages, who are being held captive by Hamas, and their families.
NRK: – No comment
The entire song contest was delayed as a result of the war in Gaza, which started last autumn after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. Which song she will perform in Malmö has not yet been decided.
– Should think about it
There have been demands from some European politicians and artists in both Norway, Finland and Ireland to exclude Israel from Eurovision this year as a result of Israel’s warfare, writes the Jerusalem Post.
– I think they should think about themselves, and realize that this is not the year they should participate in something like that. I think that the Israeli artist, if he comes, will get a rather uneasy welcome in the hall, says Morten Thomassen, who is the leader of the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix club, to NRK.
CAN BE JOINED: Several are reacting to Israel not being banned from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, as Russia was after they went to war against Ukraine. view more
However, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is behind the contest, has said that Eurovision is not a competition between governments, but artists.
– The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition between public service institutions across Europe and the Middle East, which are members of the EBU. It is a competition for broadcasters – not governments – and the Israeli broadcaster has been participating for 50 years. The competition must be an apolitical event that unites audiences worldwide through music, writes the EBU in a statement in January.
– Propaganda channel in prime time
Israel first participated in Eurovision in 1973 and has won the competition four times.