Israel qualified for Saturday’s Eurovision final in Malmö, Sweden, where thousands of people demonstrated against its participation in the competition due to the war in Gaza.
The young artist Eden Golan won her ticket Thursday evening with the song Hurricanethe initial version of which had to be modified because it alluded to the attack by the Islamist group Hamas which bloodied Israel on October 7.
Israel thus joins the group of 26 countries – including France represented by Slimane – which will compete on Saturday to succeed Sweden as winner of this competition followed by several tens of millions of viewers each year.
For Netanyahu, she has “already won”
“I am so grateful to everyone who voted for us and supported us,” said the 20-year-old Israeli. “It’s truly an honor to be here, on stage, to perform and show our voice, to present ourselves with pride,” she said.
Israel has participated in Eurovision since 1973, which it won for the fourth time in 2018. On Friday, the country was second favorite for the final victory behind Croatia and ahead of Switzerland, according to the betting site comparator in online Oddschecker.com.
Before the semi-final, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that his country’s candidate had “already won”. “Not only are you proudly and admirably participating in Eurovision, but you are successfully confronting a horrible wave of anti-Semitism,” he said in a video message to the singer.
12,000 demonstrators against the Israel-Hamas war
Nearly 12,000 people demonstrated in the host city on Thursday against Israel’s participation, expressing outrage over the war in Gaza. A new rally is planned for Saturday.
“This year we are boycotting completely,” said Cecilia Brudell, 31, in the crowd which also included climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The neutrality of the tele-hook was shaken up Tuesday during the first semi-final by the Swedish singer Eric Saade, who wore a Palestinian keffiyeh around his arm.
A gesture regretted by the EBU and by Swedish public television SVT, who claim the apolitical nature of this popular meeting.
