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Israel flag at the Eurovision Song Contest: In the meantime, the country's participation was in jeopardy

Photo: Jessica Gow / TT / IMAGO

The dispute over this year's Israeli song for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) seems to be over: The Israeli television station Kan publicly broadcast the new version of this year's entry for the first time on Sunday evening with "Hurricane" by singer Eden Golan - thereby giving in to the organizer's wishes .

The previous song “October Rain” was too political for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva.

The song's lyrics originally said, among other things: "Writer of history, stand by me" and "there is no more room to breathe."

There is no space."

The EBU found it too political: According to media reports, the original song referred to the massacre by the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7th, in which terrorists murdered around 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted a further 250 to the Gaza Strip.

According to the station, the newly written song has the same melody as “October Rain”.

It's about a young woman who has gone through a personal crisis.

If Kan had not had the text reworked, the Israeli participant would have been threatened with exclusion from the song contest.

According to a statement, the broadcaster also responded to a request from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who had therefore contacted the broadcaster's board of directors, by changing the content.

Israel must raise its voice at a time when those who hated the country were trying to exclude and boycott it, Herzog argued for his country's participation in the ESC, according to a statement from the broadcaster.

Swedish artists, among others, had called for Israel to be excluded from the ESC because of the Gaza war.

Israel responded to Hamas' terror with massive bombings and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, around 30,000 Palestinians have been killed so far.

The organizers rejected Israel's exclusion from the competition.

Israel has already won the ESC four times.

This year the competition will take place in the Swedish city of Malmö.

The final will take place on May 11th.

spr/dpa