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Israeli Songs Allegedly Banned From Eurovision Events in Sweden Amid Security Concerns, Booked DJs Reveal
Eden Golan, Israel’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, speaks during a press conference following the official unveiling of Israel’s song submission, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Disc jockeys are claiming they were told not to play Israeli songs at events taking place inside the official Eurovision Village ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest that will be held in Malmo, Sweden, next month.
Tens of thousands of tourists and locals visit the Eurovision Village, where they can attend live concerts, parties, and broadcasts of the semi-finals and final competitions in the song contest. The Eurovision Village is the official venue of the Eurovision Song Contest, held this year in Malmo, and although the competition is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the producer of the Eurovision events in Malmo is the local municipality.
Israeli DJs booked for events this year at the Eurovision Village confirmed to the Israeli publication Ynet that they were instructed not to play any Israeli songs in the venue.
“The instruction I received this morning was that in the village itself, Israeli songs must not be played, but in other parties, I can play what I want,” one of the DJs told Ynet, adding that a similar ban was put on Russian and Belarus songs. However, both of those countries are not participating in the competition.
“I think the reason for the decision is a security concern,” the DJ explained. “There are many Muslims and supporters of Palestinians in Malmo and many of them are expected to come to the Eurovision Village. I suppose the producers wanted to avoid a fuss or anything that would disrupt things in the village.”
The reported ban on Israeli songs does not apply to other Eurovision events taking place in Malmo, the DJs told Ynet.
The Malmo municipality denied claims of a ban on Israeli music and said in a released statement: “This is not true. We would never give such a directive. Eurovision in Malmo is for everyone and all music can be played.”
EBU also commented on the matter, saying that “while the Eurovision Village is an official venue of the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU is not involved in any programming of events or entertainment activities during the event.”
Israel’s representative in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest is Eden Golan and she will compete with a song renamed Hurricane. The EBU disqualified the song’s original lyrics and title, October Rain, because it was too political since the original track referenced the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.
The finals for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest will take place on May 11 in Malmo.
In last year’s Eurovision competition, Israel’s contestant Noa Kirel came in third place.
The post Israeli Songs Allegedly Banned From Eurovision Events in Sweden Amid Security Concerns, Booked DJs Reveal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.