Eden Golan, 20, represents Israel in the international competition. In Malmö, where the 2024 edition is taking place, the young woman is surrounded by unusual security measures.
Services under close surveillance. Israeli Eden Golan, chosen to represent her country at Eurovision 2024, will perform this Thursday, May 9 in the evening as part of the second semi-final of the competition, with the aim of qualifying for the big evening of SATURDAY. And this warm-up lap may be one of the only times she leaves her hotel room in Malmö, Sweden, where the competition is taking place this year.
The rare information that has leaked out about the preparations of the Israeli delegation suggests extraordinary measures. Because this 68th edition of the tele-hook takes place in a climate of hostility towards the participation of the Hebrew State, due to the war which has been raging between Israel and Hamas for seven months now. So much so that the 20-year-old young woman, who represents her country with the song Hurricanewould be the subject of concern from the Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence service.
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According to the Israeli site Ynet, Eden Golan benefits from the most important security arrangements for an Israeli delegation since 1974, an edition which followed the Yom Kippur War. He adds that these measures are the most significant for an Israeli trip since the start of the war, surpassing those put in place for athletes from the Jewish State during their international meetings in recent months.
Because in addition to the numerous calls for boycotts coming from artists and fans of the competition, this 2024 edition is taking place in a climate of palpable tension. In March, shortly after the Jewish state’s participation was confirmed, The Times of Israel reported that a Eurovision promotional board installed in Malmö had been sprayed with red paint and marked with the inscription “Free Gaza “.
In recent weeks, at least half a dozen organizations have filed a request to demonstrate against the Israeli presence in the competition, in this city where lives a large part of the Swedish population of Palestinian origin.
In addition, the city’s security director held a press conference in April about the security arrangements at the site, where some 100,000 tourists from 80 different countries are expected. He notably announced that the police presence would be reinforced with personnel from Norway and Denmark, and police officers more heavily armed than usual.
“We are in a situation where we need to take precautionary measures and have on hand the tools we might need in the event of a serious incident,” added police chief Petra Stenkulla.
Death threats
It is on Eden Golan that these hostilities crystallize. The young woman was notably the subject of death threats on social networks. They led the EBU to publish a press release in early April to denounce “any form of online abuse, hate speech or harassment targeting (its) artists or any person associated with the competition”.
Still according to Ynet, the Shin Bet carried out several scouting visits to Malmö ahead of the arrival of the singer, who landed on Swedish soil on April 30. The decision was taken to reduce the number of members of the Israeli delegation which would take part in the trip, according to the same Source, which did not specify to what extent the team was reduced.
Quasi-containment
At the beginning of May, the Swedish media Espressen relayed by the Telegraph reported that the Shin Bet had instructed the young woman to limit her travel to Malmö, instructing her to only leave her hotel room for official events. So, we only saw her during the traditional rehearsals.
Sunday, while the 37 candidates of this edition crowded onto the “turquoise carpet” for the opening ceremony, Eden Golan did not appear in front of the photographers. A spokesperson for Israeli broadcaster Kan told The Times of Israel that the absence was due to Yom HaShoah, a day of Holocaust remembrance established by the Israeli calendar, which began that evening. Instead, the young woman took part in a ceremony in honor of the missing, with members of the Jewish community of Malmö.
In April, a former Shin Bet security official, Mickey Weinberg, also declared on the Israeli channel Channel 12 that Eden Golan would be accompanied in all her movements by a bodyguard.
Israelis encouraged not to travel to Malmö
But the singer is not the only Israeli whose safety worries the country’s authorities. Last Thursday, the Jewish state advised its citizens against traveling to the Swedish city of Malmö, where the competition will take place from May 7 to 11. Eurovisionciting possible attacks against Israelis.
Referring to plans for “anti-Israeli demonstrations” and “calls to attack Jews and Israelis”, the National Security Council (NSC), an organization dependent on the Prime Minister, is concerned that “cells terrorists are taking advantage of the demonstrations and the anti-Israeli climate to carry out attacks against Israelis who came to Sweden for Eurovision. Furthermore, the NSC raised the threat level in Malmö from 2 (potential threat) to 3 (moderate threat).
The devastating response of the Israeli army in Gaza left more than 34,000 dead according to Hamas, in retaliation for the massacre perpetrated by the terrorist organization which 1,170 dead on the Israeli side on October 7, 2023. In addition, some 130 Israeli hostages are still being held in the Palestinian enclave.
