Israeli Eurovision Song Contest performance drowned out by boos during jury show

There are also slogans of “Free Palestine”.

Israel's Eurovision Song Contest was met with a barrage of boos and chants of “Free Palestine” as they took to the stage for the contest's jury performance on Wednesday night.

The show takes place the night before the televised semi-finals, where entries will be judged and scored by national juries.

Israel's involvement in the competition has been under scrutiny since last year's attacks in Gaza.

One of the people who attended the show last night release Talking about their experience at X, they said the atmosphere inside the venue during the Israeli show was “terrible”.

You can “feel the tension,” they added.

Videos circulated on social media showing loud boos and shouts throughout Israel's performance.

Audience chants “Free Palestine” during Israeli Eurovision performance #eurovision #Eurovision2024 pic.twitter.com/kdpUoHynaO

— Escxfav🇮🇪🇨🇭🇭🇷 (@Escxfav2) May 8, 2024

Israeli Eurovision Song Contest performance drowned out by boos during jury show

This year, 20-year-old Israeli-Russian singer Eden Golan represented Israel with the song “Hurricane.”

The song's original title, “October Rain,” came under intense scrutiny because it was inspired by last year's Hamas attacks on Israel, which resulted in the killing of more than 34,000 Palestinians by Israeli forces.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) requested a rewrite and rewording in February because the song was seen as a political message.

After several rewrites, “Hurricane” was finally accepted by the EBU on March 7.

Sweden (host of this year's competition) has seen numerous protests over Israel's participation, and a pro-Palestinian march is expected on Thursday 9 May.

Ireland's Bambie Thug has also been criticized for taking part in this year's competition despite positioning themselves as pro-Palestinian.

Last month, more than 400 Irish artists called on Bambie Thug to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine, including Derry Girls actor Siobhán McSweeney and singer-songwriter Erica – Erica-Cody, who competed with Bambie Thug for a spot in the Eurovision Song Contest this year.

The Cork singer was ordered by the EBU to change their pro-Palestinian message during their semi-final performance on Tuesday night.

After the performance, the 31-year-old told a press conference that they were forced to change their body paint to use the Ogham script, which translates to “ceasefire and freedom.”

Swedish actor Erik Saad opened the semi-finals on Tuesday with a headscarf on his arm, usually used to show solidarity with Palestine.

The EBU said he “chose to compromise the apolitical nature of the event” and “regrets” the broadcast.

However, Sadeh said in a statement that he got the hijab from his father and wanted to wear something “authentic” to express his identity.

“At the time, I had no idea that one day it would be called a 'political symbol' by the EBU,” he said. “That's like calling the Swedish Dala horse a political symbol.”

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