Israel’s Eurovision entry has been approved after the country changed the lyrics to its song which had been deemed too political by some competing nations.
Eden Golan will represent Israel at the contest in Sweden this May after the words of ‘October Rain’ were tweaked, with the entry now called Hurricane.
Her original song was thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October and had been barred for breaking contest rules on political neutrality.
In a statement, The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the contest, said on Thursday: "The EBU can confirm that the official submission from its Israeli Member Kan has been deemed eligible to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest in May.
"The Contest's Reference Group, its governing board, made the decision to accept the song 'Hurricane' for the upcoming competition after careful scrutiny of the lyrics.
"It was agreed that 'Hurricane' met the necessary criteria for participation in accordance with the rules of the competition."
Israeli broadcaster Kan, which chooses Israel’s entry, gave way to pressure from the country’s President Isaac Herzog who called for "necessary adjustments" to ensure Israel can take part in the contest.
The original lyrics of October Rain, written in English, were published on Kan's website last month.
They included the lines "They were all good children, every one of them" and "Who told you boys don't cry/ Hours and hours/ And flowers/ Life is not a game for the cowards."
Despite the change in lyrics Belgium's Culture Minister Benedicte Linard called for Israel to be banned from Eurovision over the war in Gaza.
She wrote on X."Just like Russia has been excluded from competitions and Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine, Israel should be excluded until it puts an end to its flagrant violations of international law, which are causing thousands of victims, especially children.”
Israel insists that its ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza is being carried out in line with international law. Its military has repeatedly said that it goes out of its way to try to avoid harming civilians.
