The original lyrics to Israel’s Eurovision song banned for breaking rules [Video]

Israel was forced to change the lyrics of its original entry song performed by Eden Golan to avoid being disqualified from the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

The 20-year-old had been set to perform October Rain until there was backlash after it was revealed that it contained references to the Hamas attack on October 7.

After mounting pressure, the country’s broadcaster Kan said it had reached out to the songwriters to ‘readjust the texts, with full artistic freedom’ before being sent to the Eurovision Broadcasting Union for approval.

Now, Golan is performing a revised version of the song, called Hurricane. She is performing in the second semi-finals tonight with the bookies expecting her to qualify for the grand finals.

Lyrics in October Rain included: ‘There’s no air left to breathe / No place, no me from day to day.’

The song, which was mostly sung in English and was said to end with the last three lines in Hebrew, …