For as long as it has existed, Eurovision has been both a prestigious song contest and a reflection of the global political environment.
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Although its slogan is "United By Music," the competition is hardly politically neutral, having most recently banned Russia from participating following its invasion of Ukraine.
Video: Eden Golan pronounced winner of 'HaKokhav HaBa' / Credit: Moshe Ben Simhon
In 2022, Ukraine was chosen winner not because its song was particularly memorable, but due to the war that was brought to its doorstep. It was "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, by the way.
In 2023 too, the stage in Liverpool, which hosted Eurovision for Kyiv, was filled with yellow and blue flags in a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. So far so good.
So how does Eurovision reconcile this contradiction? On the one hand, it insists that it is not a political event, on the other, it seems to be most political. So much so that some years, the winner can be predicted ahead of time. Such as Ukraine in 2022, or in 2016 with Jamala's "1944," which evoked the deportation of Crimean Tatars by Josef Stalin in, as the song alludes, 1944 and has been interpreted as a criticism of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Analysis of voting patterns shows that some friendly countries consistently give each other a higher score. There are usually neighboring countries, with linguistic, ethnic, cultural, historical, and geographical ties, such as Greece and Cyprus, France and Germany, Britain and Ireland, Sweden and Finland. In fact, until 2016 even Russia and Ukraine made sure to give each other high scores.
In 2024, Russia is a leper, certainly in the eyes of Eurovision fans due to its war in Ukraine, discriminatory policies against its LGBTQ community, and nearly non-existent free speech in the press.
Israel, unfortunately, is not doing much better. One can blame propaganda and antisemitism, but the reality is that until Eurovision, to be held in May, demonstrations are expected to be held to boycott it. As such, Israel's representative this year, Eden Golan, is facing a bigger challenge than any of her predecessors.
Interestingly, Golan has a connection to Russia as well. In 2015, she competed to represent the country at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. One wonders whether this too could affect Golan's performance in Sweden.
Following last year's victory by Loreen, with her pop song "Tattoo," the competition will be held in the country's third largest city, Malmö, between May 7 and 11. The port city lies on the Baltic Sea and is known for its large number of immigrants. Over 25% of its residents are Muslim, many of whom are pro-Palestinian. Eurovision was last held in Malmö in 2013 when Moran Mazor represented Israel. She was eliminated in the semi-finals at a time that too was sensitive: barely half a year had passed after Operation Pillar of Defense.
Alon Amir, spokesman of the Israeli delegation at the time, recalled, "The situation was very tense. We went to Malmö with six Shin Bet [security agency] agents, and another 30 local police were with us at all times. We couldn't leave the hotel alone. This year it is not unreasonable to assume that the Israeli delegation will not be allowed to leave the hotel at all, except for rehearsals and official events. The security will be very heavy – like we had in 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. . There was a real fear of Iranian terrorists carrying out attacks during the competition."
The security team made sure to smuggle Izabo, the group that represented Israel in 2012, wherever needed. In retrospect, their caution was warranted as it turned out that the local police arrested nearly 40 Iranian terrorists and managed to thwart a series of planned attacks.
In preparation for this year's trip, members of the Israeli delegation are currently formulating an action plan. The Shin Bet is in close contact with the Kan broadcasting corporation regarding all security arrangements, and it is clear that this time the task is more complicated than ever.
If last year there were several demonstrators waving Palestinian flags outside the concert hall in Liverpool, and Noa Kirel's entourage included four Shin Bet agents and two local police officers, this time dozens of security guards are expected to join.
The size of the security team will be determined according to members of the delegation, including the make-up artist, dresser, hair stylist, dancers, and/or back singers.
It has already been decided that the delegation will not participate in the various parties and events that will be held in the city. In addition, Golan will also not attend the red carpet (which is actually a turquoise carpet), not only for security reasons but because the event will coincide with Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Avi Zeikner, the editor of the Hebrew-language website about Eurovision – euromix.com, who intends to fly to Sweden to cover the event as he does every year, said, "Quite a few Israelis want to go to Malmö this year. Due to the security concerns, most of them do not plan to stay in the city, but to stay in Copenhagen and travel to Malmö for the main events. It takes an hour and a half by train. This year, many mass demonstrations against Israel are expected. Another concern is that Golan might be booed when she takes the stage. It's happened in the past, such as with Russia, so that too could be an unpleasant moment."
As for Palestinian flags, they aren't allowed in the Eurovision arena, same with the flags of ISIS, the flag of Nagorno-Karabakh, and Kosovo. Anyone caught waving one of these flags is immediately escorted out of the building. However, there are no guarantees that such an incident won't happen. In 2019, when Israel was hosting Eurovision, members of Iceland's Hatari band raised the Palestinian flag during the live televoting sequence and were fined.
According to Zikner, "Security at the entrance does check what one carries. For example, you are not allowed to bring in large bags. On the other hand, those who really want to hide a flag can find a way to smuggle it in. If someone raises such a flag in the hall, during a live broadcast, it is possible to change camera angles and find ways to hide. But if a protester decides to go on stage, and this has happened before, then the situation is more problematic. Still, there is a way to handle it and divert the camera until the person is removed."
In the meantime, in order not to add more fuel to the fire, the Foreign Ministry has requested to maintain a low media profile and even ordered the Israeli ambassador to Sweden not to be interviewed in connection with the competition. "Being engaged in this only increases the banter surrounding the event," they said.
Immediately after Eden Golan's victory in "HaKokhav HaBa," full responsibility was transferred to the Kan broadcaster, both in the artistic and procedural aspects as well as in terms of media. At the beginning of next week, the professional committee will meet to select the song. The dozens of songs submitted to the committee were written by experienced artists. Interestingly, Doron Medley, who wrote "Toy" for Netta Barzilai who won Eurovision in 2018 has isolated himself in the Far East this year, declaring that he has no intention of being interviewed.
The committee that will select the song will consist of representatives from Kan, radio and television, prominent figures from Keshet, and representatives from Teddy Productions. The names are confidential, so that they do not influence the members of the committee from the outside, but these are more or less the same people who chose the Israeli song in the previous years. If there is unanimous agreement, the decision will be made that day, otherwise, they will meet once more to decide. The song that will be chosen will be revealed in a festive Kan broadcast on March 11.
"The debate is whether Israel should send some kind of ballad that addresses the war or a rhythmic and empowering song. This is a fundamental and critical question because the audience will respond according to what is chosen," Zeikner said. "If we choose a ballad with a moving message which is the wrong direction in my opinion, because we will try to move those who will never be moved, we will not create sympathy and no one will vote for us. This approach claims that no matter where we end up this year, the main thing is that we sing something Israeli and patriotic. But if we want to get to the finals, and show the world that despite everything no one will break us, it's worth thinking about a rhythmic and empowering song.
"You can't sing about everything. Certain messages cannot be delivered on the Eurovision stage. Georgia, for example, was previously disqualified after trying to send a song called "We Don't Wanna Put In" to the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. On the other hand, in 2016, the Ukrainians managed to enter into the competition a song that alluded to the expulsion of the Tatar population from the Crimean peninsula by the Soviet regime, and won.
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"There are rules you cannot break. There are words that are forbidden to sing, you can't sing about commercial brands and you can't sing political songs. The Russians did try to disqualify the song, but the EBU claimed that the Ukrainian song talks about an event from 1944, and it is allowed to sing about past events. It's like Israel was sent to Eurovision in Germany Ofra was seen singing 'Am Yisrael Chai' and the attendants wore yellow (a reference to the Holocaust). It is also political, but that's fine. There are messages that are allowed and there are messages that are not.
"For example, after Operation Cast Lead we sent Ahinoam Nini and Mira Awad with 'There Must be Another Way', which is definitely a political song, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not mentioned in the lyrics, and they did a great service to the State of Israel."
On the other hand, in the end, they only reached 16th place. Even Teapacks, who sang about the Iranian bomb, or the PingPong band, who sang about peace with Syria, failed to interest the world with their political messages.
Depending on the message of the song that will be chosen, a lot will be placed on the shoulders of Eden Golan. Israeli media reported Wednesday that Israel's first song pick for Eurovision, titled "October Rain," was rejected by the European Broadcasting Union. The song, referencing the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, in which 1,200 Israelis, including women and children were killed by terrorists, was reportedly deemed too political.
An alternative song, named "Dancing Forever," too has reportedly been ruled out.
