In the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Sweden, Israel’s participation generated a broad international debate in a context of very active war conflicts in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have lost their lives in recent months due to Israeli attacks.
Eden Golan, representative of Israel, was one of the great protagonists of the contest. The artist had to repeatedly adapt the lyrics of her song and she openly expressed her intention to return to military service. Added to this was the conflictive attitude of the Israeli delegation.
This breeding ground, with the backdrop of war, turned Israel into a country rejected in Eurovision. This was made known by Eurofans around the world, both online and at the Malmö Arena, where there was a large amount of booing for Golan.
Not even the journalists covering the festival wanted to show support for the Israeli proposal. As can be seen in a video posted by Jagoba Álvarez, only the Israeli press applauded Golan. The rest of the media remained completely silent: “If only journalists from your country applaud you in a Eurovision press room, perhaps you have managed your public relations at the event very poorly.”
Israel, despite having practically no support within Eurovision nor convincing the professional jury, did have the favor of the public, which raised it to fifth place after awarding it 323 points for a total of 375.
