Music fans who gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to watch the Eurovision contest denounced the jury’s disdain for Israel as “clearly political”.
The atmosphere in Tel Aviv’s packed Leila Bar was electric as the show began, and the audience went wild when Israeli contestant Eden Golan appeared on screen.
Arriving with long lavender-streaked hair and matching nails, Golan performed her song “Hurricane” wearing a white chiffon dress that billowed amid the artificial wind and smoke that filled the stage.
After seeing her performance, many patrons at Leila, which bills itself as “Tel Aviv’s best gay bar,” voiced their hopes that she would win.
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That would send the message, “Maybe we’re not hated so much, and maybe the music really won out,” said Tal Benderski, wearing an Israeli flag. 23) said.
But the mood soured as votes began to roll in and it became clear that few of the jurors representing 37 voting countries had given Golan even a sliver of their votes.
Fans went from jumping up and down and waving Israeli flags to sitting with their heads down, some with their heads in their hands.
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“This is obviously political,” said Guy, 20, who declined to give his last name because he didn’t want his family to know he was at a gay bar.
“Eden was great… but there are some people who hate us. They don’t see the big picture,” he told AFP.
“We didn’t get much from each country. It’s obviously political,” Leila’s manager Tal Shul agreed.
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“No one wants to show they support us.”
A few days before the glitzy contest, Israel had emerged as one of the bookmakers’ favorites, along with Croatia and Switzerland, but they ended up stealing the show.
But victory for Israel was always remote, given the bitter dispute over participation in this year’s tournament, as Israel continues its shelling and siege of Gaza.
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The war began on October 7 with Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli statistics from AFP.
The insurgents have also taken hostages, of whom Israel estimates 128 remain in Gaza, including 36 who the military says are dead.
At least 34,971 people have been killed in Israeli retaliatory attacks in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run region’s health ministry.
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Golan’s song “Hurricane” is an adaptation of an earlier version called “October Rain,” which Golan modified after organizers deemed it too political as it clearly alluded to a Hamas attack. be.
Before the competition began on Saturday, police in the host city of Malmo said at least 5,000 people were demonstrating on the streets outside the venue.
Thousands of musicians around the world also called for Israel’s removal.
Although the country’s juries largely discounted Israel when voting began late Saturday, another equally important vote by the public gave Israel a big boost, ultimately vaulting it to a respectable fifth place.
When the public vote was held, the fans in Tel Aviv went wild again.
Schur praised Golan’s performance, saying it was “fantastic” and calling it “perfect.”
“It was nice to see how emotional people got when she got on stage… She did something for us.”
“I was very happy when Israel was given such a high score, because it’s not about politics, it’s about music,” said Nelly Bernardi, 41.
But she told AFP she felt “embarrassed” by the first part of the vote.
“(The jury’s) points were given in a political way…that was clear.”
nl/mca
