“It’s a great privilege to be here and to represent the nation,” says singer Eden Golan.
By World Israel News Staff
Israeli singer Eden Golan placed fifth in the Eurovision song contest, after an unprecedented controversy involving Israel’s presence at the competition, the lyrics of the country’s entry, and massive protests aimed at intimidating the musician and the Israeli delegation.
In the televote, Golan came in second place, an achievement which may underscore that many in Europe support Israel, despite raucous protests that have swept cities and university campuses across the continent.
However, the jury votes were more critical of Israel, knocking the country down to fifth place.
“I don’t have words. I’m so happy,” Golan told reporters backstage after receiving the results.
“We got to a [respectable] place, that’s our victory. It’s a great privilege to be here and to represent the nation.”
The winner of the contest is determined by two votes. One vote is a jury vote, comprised by a panel of music and broadcasting professionals from all of the participating countries. The second vote is a popular televote which allows viewers all over the world to vote for their favorite performance.
The scores of the two votes are combined to give contestants their final placing.
Golan said she “had expected” to receive few points from the jury and was not surprised by that outcome.
More than ten thousand anti-Israel protesters, including Greta Thunberg, descended on the arena where the contest was held in Malmo, Sweden, in the day’s leading up to the competition final.
Swedish police arrested dozens for attempting to breach the arena, likely in an attempt to prevent Golan from performing.
Last week, Golan was ordered to stay in her hotel room after mass protests sparked chaos in Malmo.
For months, numerous countries have pressured the organizers of Eurovision to exclude Israel from the contest due to the current military campaign against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
The organizers refused to boycott Israel, but they did initially disqualify Israel’s song, called “October Rain,” claiming that it was “too political” for the contest.
Some of the lyrics of the songs appeared to reference the Nova Festival Massacre and Israeli hostages held in Gaza, with organizers pointing to lines such as “people go away and never say goodbye” as being politically-charged.
Notably, Ukraine submitted a blatantly political song featuring a female soldier in 2022, with a music video depicting Russian bombings of the country, which was not disqualified.
Israel eventually changed the lyrics of the song, resubmitting it as “Hurricane,” with Golan performed at the contest.