The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which oversees the Eurovision Song Contest, has informed Israel that if the lyrics of the song "October Rain" are not altered, the Israeli entry will be disqualified from the competition, as reported by Walla News.
This isn't the first instance of the EBU withdrawing songs from Eurovision participation under similar circumstances.
In 2009, a Georgian song referencing Putin was barred from entry, and in 2021, a Belarusian song addressing Lukashenko met the same fate.
On the evening of February 22, Keshet TV announced that the Kan media corporation has no plans to modify the song's lyrics.
A day earlier, Walla News reported that the EBU deemed "October Rain," the song intended for Israeli participant Eden Golan at Eurovision, to have a "political context," violating competition rules.
The EBU's decision will be communicated to the Israeli media corporation Kan, responsible for the participant's entry. If the song is rejected, Israel will have the option to submit another entry or revise the lyrics of the existing song.
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar denounced the EBU's move to disqualify an Israeli song from the competition as "scandalous."
He argued that Eden Golan's song reflects the sentiments of Israelis and lacks political overtones. "We hope Eurovision will remain a music competition and not be turned into a platform for political contention," he remarked.
Keshet-12 TV reported on the evening of February 21 that due to concerns over the potential disqualification of the Israeli entry, Israel's standing in bookmaker predictions plummeted sharply.
