\n<\/p>\n
A song called \u201cOctober Rain\u201d might simply be a ballad about dreary fall weather. But in the charged atmosphere following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel of Oct. 7, the title could also signal a lament about that tragedy, or a rallying call to stand firm against terrorism.<\/p>\n
This week, the meaning of \u201cOctober Rain\u201d \u2014 a song that very few people have heard \u2014 became a contested question when newspapers in Israel reported<\/a> that a song with that name had been chosen to represent the country in this year\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest.<\/p>\n Although initial reports gave few details of the song, they sparked a furor on social media. Some Eurovision fans complained<\/a> that the track was clearly referring to Oct. 7 and should not be allowed in the nonpolitical event in which pop stars, representing countries, compete against each other each May.<\/p>\n Since Eurovision began in 1956, the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the contest, has forbidden songs that make political statements, insisting that the competition should unify, rather than divide. Every year, the union vets proposed lyrics to ensure they do not undermine that principle. Although Israel is not in Europe, its broadcaster is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, and therefore the country is eligible to compete in Eurovision.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the news division of Kan, Israel\u2019s public broadcaster, which oversees the country\u2019s participation in Eurovision, reported that the broadcaster had begun discussions with the European Broadcasting Union<\/a> over the suitability of \u201cOctober Rain.\u201d If the union refused to approve the track, the report speculated, Israel would not submit an alternative and would then be barred from the contest.<\/p>\n Miki Zohar, the country\u2019s culture minister, said in a post on X<\/a> on Wednesday that it would be \u201cscandalous\u201d if the song wasn\u2019t allowed to compete.<\/p>\n In a letter sent to the European Broadcasting Union on Thursday, seen by The New York Times, Zohar put the case for \u201cOctober Rain.\u201d It was \u201can emotional song, discussing regeneration and rebirth,\u201d he wrote. And while it reflected \u201cthe current public sentiment in Israel these days,\u201d he said, that doesn\u2019t make it \u201ca political song.\u201d (A spokesman for the minister said that Zohar hadn\u2019t heard the \u201cconfidential\u201d song, but had seen \u201ca large part\u201d of its lyrics.)<\/p>\n A European Broadcasting Union spokeswoman said in an email on Thursday that it was \u201ccurrently in the process of scrutinizing the lyrics,\u201d as it does for all proposed Eurovision tracks. \u201cIf a song is deemed unacceptable for any reason, broadcasters are then given the opportunity to submit a new song or new lyrics,\u201d the spokeswoman added.<\/p>\n Even before this week\u2019s uproar, Israel\u2019s participation in this year\u2019s Eurovision, which will be held in Malmo, Sweden, had cast a shadow over the event. As the death toll from Israel\u2019s military offensive in Gaza has mounted, hundreds of musicians<\/a> in countries including Sweden, Denmark and Iceland have signed petitions urging the European Broadcasting Union to ban Israel, following a similar decision in 2022 to ban Russia after it invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n The European Broadcasting Union has repeatedly dismissed the comparison between Israel and Russia. \u201cWe understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East,\u201d the union said in a statement this month, but Eurovision was \u201cnot a contest between governments.\u201d<\/p>\n At this year\u2019s Eurovision, Israel will be represented by Eden Golan, a 20-year-old pop singer who was selected earlier this month when she won a TV talent show called \u201cRising Star,\u201d singing an Aerosmith cover. During that show\u2019s final, Golan referred to the roughly 130 hostages Israel believes Hamas is holding in Gaza. \u201cWe won\u2019t truly be OK until everyone returns home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Which song Golan will sing at Eurovision, however, is not only up to her. Kan has been evaluating potential tracks, and although it submitted \u201cOctober Rain\u201d for approval, the broadcaster is not scheduled to officially announce Israel\u2019s song until March 10, allowing time for it to be changed, if necessary.<\/p>\n Throughout Eurovision\u2019s history, the European Broadcasting Union has occasionally intervened when it detected political overtones in proposed entries, said Chris West, the author of a history of Eurovision. In 2009, he said, Georgia pulled out of the contest<\/a> because the organizers objected to a song called \u201cWe Don\u2019t Wanna Put In<\/a>.\u201d The song was seen as a statement against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, West said.<\/p>\n And in 2015, Armenia changed the title of its entry \u201cDon\u2019t Deny,\u201d because it was widely interpreted as a reference to Turkey\u2019s denial of the Ottoman Empire\u2019s genocide of Armenians<\/a>. The song was renamed \u201cFace the Shadow,\u201d West said.<\/p>\n \u201cOctober Rain\u201d seemed political from its title, West said, but Israel might claim it has nothing to do with last year\u2019s attacks, or even that the country has a right to sing about the impact of Hamas\u2019s atrocities.<\/p>\n \u201cEurovision\u2019s organizers have a really difficult job of deciding where the line is,\u201d West said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n