The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest have approved Israel's revised entry after the first version was considered too political.
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Israel will now take part in the contest, Israeli public broadcaster Kan announced on Thursday, citing the organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva. The broadcaster is one of the organisations that participates in the ESC.
The Israeli competitor, Eden Golan, will perform the rewritten song, which is now called Hurricane, in Sweden in May.
The song has the same melody as its predecessor October Rain, which had been deemed too political by the organisers. According to media reports, the song refers to the massacre by militants from the Palestinian extremist group Hamas in Israel on October 7.
In a statement Kan said that by changing the lyrics, it was also complying with a request from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who had approached the broadcaster's board of directors.
Herzog argued in favour of his country's participation in Eurovision at a time when those who hated the country were trying to exclude and boycott it.
The broadcaster had initially said that it did not want to edit the text, but then reversed its decision. If it had not done so, Israel would not have been allowed to compete.
Swedish artists, among others, had called for Israel to be excluded because of the war in Gaza, an argument the organisers have rejected.
Australian Associated Press
