Israeli singer focused by the fury of the pro-Palestine crowd

Israel‘s Eurovision singer Eden Golan has been ordered to stay in her hotel room and is under constant protection after thousands of pro-Palestine protesters gathered in Malmo, Sweden.

Israel’s national security agency Shin Bet warned Golan not to leave her hotel room except for performances after receiving death threats and amid terror-attack fears.

There have been calls from protesters to throw Israel out of the singing competition because of the war in Gaza following Hamas‘ terror attacks on October 7.

As many as 5,000 people took to the city’s streets today including climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Ms Thunberg, 21, was in the centre of the southern Swedish city ahead of the young Israeli-Russian singer’s performance at the second semi-final of the competition later this evening.

Dramatic scenes show people setting off smoke canisters in the colours of the Palestinian flag while others held placards reading ‘Welcome to the genocide song contest’ and ‘Stop using Eurovision to whitewash Israeli crimes’.

Golan has received support from some of her nation’s previous famous entrants. 

Israeli Dana International, who was Eurovision’s first transgender winner in 1998, told the LGBT community to condemn Hamas rather than Israel as she called to ‘Free Palestine – from Hamas!’. 

‘Things are far more complex than reciting some trend that sounds right to you,’ she told her 114,000 followers on Instagram. 

‘I ask you to open your eyes and hearts, and to see the truth, to see beyond any propaganda or a one-sided narrative as they shown on social media. Choose to see the side who sees you. Who shares the same values as you.’ 

Gali Atari, who was part of group Milk and Honey when Israel won in 1979, believes Golan would have a chance of winning if it was any other year.  

‘And all the noise in the background makes it much more difficult,’ she told The Jerusalem Post. 

‘All this year, with the boos, the violent protests – it’s all very frightening, but Eden handles it very well.’

Yet the tensions at this year’s event are palpable. 

Heavily-armed police officers carrying machine guns are patrolling outside hotels, and drone-mounted cameras will monitor the crowds as they bid to keep the peace during the world’s biggest pop competition.

Most alarming of all, there are reports that terrorists are planning to bomb the arena.

Without question, Golan is Eurovision‘s most controversial entry this year and is said to be under constant bodyguard watch having faced death threats.

If there were any questions remaining about what kind of reception she will receive, those were resoundingly answered last night.

As she took to the stage dressed in a stone-coloured maxi dress that resembled bandages, boos filled the arena.

Golan was nearly drowned out by the demonstrators chanting ‘Free Palestine’ while she performed ‘Hurricane’ during the Eurovision Song Contest’s Jury Show. 

Yet despite the threats on her life and fears of a terror attack, she has refused to be cowed and has remained steadfast in her response. 

‘I won’t let anything break me,’ the Russian-Israeli defiantly says. 

Before she flew out for this year’s competition the young singer showed a composure that belied her years. 

‘I wouldn’t say I’m worried. I’m prepared,’ she insisted to MailOnline, after some deliberation. 

But her entry has been mired in controversy from the start. Denmark, Finland, Norway and even host country Sweden have repeatedly called for Israel to be banned from the contest altogether. And in Belgium, two Ministers demanded that the Jewish state be treated the same as Russia, which has been barred since 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine. 

That Eden’s song has fallen foul of Eurovision rules stating that all entries must be strictly non-political, hasn’t helped to ease the tension.

The original iteration of her piano-backed ballad Hurricane was called October Rain and was a barely disguised tribute to the victims of the Hamas terrorist attack last year. It included lyrics such as ‘There’s no air left to breathe’ and ‘They were all good children, each one of them’.

‘I was going through a roller-coaster of emotions,’ Golan says. ‘The song itself has a powerful story.

‘When you’re going through a lot within yourself and life in general…’

While her family was not directly affected by the October 7 massacre, she has many friends who lost loved ones. 

One friend’s boyfriend was murdered at the Nova music festival, an event she finds too painful to discuss. 

‘We can’t disconnect from what’s going on in our country,’ she continues. ‘The entire country is not going through an easy time. I feel like the horror of October 7 brought Jews closer, made us all united.’

But the original October Rain song was rejected by the contest’s organisers, the European Broadcasting Union, on political grounds.

After several revisions, October Rain was renamed as Hurricane and now tells the story of a woman emerging from a personal crisis. 

Musically, it’s the same song but the lyrics are more generic, the references to the massacre replaced with phrases like ‘every day, I’m losing my mind’ and ‘I’m still broken from this hurricane’. 

Golan is hoping the positive response to her music will outweigh any negativity. 

‘People of all nationalities like the song,’ she says confidently. ‘They can disconnect from what they believe and just focus on the music.’

Both her parents hail from the former Soviet Union and while she was born in Kfar Saba, central Israel, they decided to move to Moscow when she was six.

Her father Eddie, 56, is a businessman, while her mother, Olga, 50, is her manager – or ‘momager’.

While living in Moscow, she was educated at a British international school, where she got A-levels in maths, psychology and business.

The singer – who arrived in the city last week sporting a yellow pin, symbolising support for the release of hostages held by Hamas – insists that she is safe in Malmo despite the threats against her.

‘I’m getting a lot of love and support from my family and from the professional team that has become like a family.’

She added: ‘Protests are of course not pleasant,but I can’t wait to be there on stage and try to make people feel something in the three minutes that I have. I’m very focused in my mission.’