Israel competed at the ESC in Malmö with the song “Hurricane” by the artist Eden Golan, a reference to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October.
Since then, Israel has been waging war in the Gaza Strip – and this was criticized by thousands of demonstrators in front of the event hall. There were also boos during Golan’s appearance in the hall itself. This was expected in Israel – and now people there are happy about Golan’s good performance and the sympathy points from the European audience.
SRF News: What reactions were there in Israel to the sometimes unfair behavior of parts of the audience in Malmö towards Eden Golan?
Gisela Dachs: The focus in Israel was primarily on the artist herself. The fact is: 20-year-old Eden Golan managed to pull off her performance successfully despite the boos – and many in Israel were proud of that.
Everything about Nemo’s victory at the ESC
There had been calls for Israel to be excluded in advance, and Golan also had to change the text. So did people in Israel expect criticism?
Yes. The atmosphere was very tense and there were also security concerns. And during rehearsals, Golan faced hostile reactions from the audience so that she wouldn’t be surprised by it during her performance.
President Herzog made it clear that the stage should not be left to others.
Some Israelis also thought it would be better not to take part in the ESC this year. But then President Izchak Herzog made it clear that we had to be there right now and not leave the stage to everyone else.
Legend:
Eden Golan, who is only 20 years old, ended up in a good 5th place for Israel.
Reuters/Leonhard Foeger
If it had been purely based on audience votes, Israel would have taken second place at the ESC. Together with the jury’s votes, it was ultimately a good fifth place. How was this result received in Israel?
The discrepancy between the audience and the jury was observed very closely. And when Israel temporarily took the lead, the screenshot of this ranking was shared on social media. The opinion was then that the jury had probably voted politically correctly, but the audience had focused much more on the performance. It was also discussed whether the protests against Israel led people in Europe to vote for Israel.
Freed hostages complained that Netanyahu had never had time for them in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Eden Golan and congratulated her on the good result. How did this arrive in Israel?
Relatives of Hamas hostages or released hostages reacted to this: They complained that Netanyahu had never had time for them in the last few months – while he immediately picked up the phone for the ESC. So he likes to stand up for success, but not for other, much more important things, according to the criticism.
Will Netanyahu try to politically exploit Golan’s ESC success?
He won’t have much time for that. In Israel, the ESC is already overshadowed by much more serious events. The day of remembrance for the Israeli martyrs and victims of terror is currently taking place. So you’re remembering the fallen while there’s still a war going on – a somewhat eerie situation. And there is also discussion about what exactly the ceremonies will look like this year. The next event has already replaced the ESC debates.
The interview was conducted by Isabelle Maissen.