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Eurovision Organizers Condemn Online Abuse Targeting Contestants as Israeli Singer Receives Death Threats
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
The organizer of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday condemned the social media abuse and harassment that contestants have been facing for participating in this year’s international competition amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas terrorists controlling the Gaza Strip.
Jean Philip De Tender, deputy director general of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), said in a statement that although the EBU “acknowledges the depth of feeling and the strong opinions” regarding this year’s Eurovision as war rages on in the Middle East, the union condemns the harassment that some participating artists have been experiencing. The online abuse reportedly includes death threats targeting Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in the Eurovision contest this year.
“While we strongly support freedom of speech and the right to express opinions in a democratic society, we firmly oppose any form of online abuse, hate speech, or harassment directed at our artists or any individuals associated with the contest. This is unacceptable and totally unfair, given the artists have no role in this decision,” the EBU explained. The union added that it is “dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for all participants, staff, and fans of the Eurovision Song Contest,” which will take place this year in Malmö, Sweden.
“We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to promote the values of respect, inclusivity, and understanding, both online and offline,” the statement further noted. “We urge everyone to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue and support the artists who are working tirelessly — on what is a music and entertainment show — to share their music with the world.”
For months, anti-Israel activists and supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against the Jewish state tried unsuccessfully to pressure the EBU to remove Israel from this year’s Eurovision contest. They also failed in convincing participating artists, including the United Kingdom’s Olly Alexander, to boycott Israel’s involvement in the competition by pulling out of the song contest.
EBU Director General Noel Curran explained in January that the contest is a “non-political music event and a competition between public service broadcasters who are members of the EBU.” He said organizers “agreed that the Israeli public broadcaster Kan met all the competition rules for this year and can participate as it has for the past 50 years.” Kan is a member of the EBU.
De Tender reiterated on Tuesday the EBU’s decision to keep Israel in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.
“The decision to include any broadcaster, including the Israeli broadcaster Kan, in the Eurovision Song Contest is the sole responsibility of the EBU’s governing bodies and not that of the individual artists,” he said. “These artists come to Eurovision to share their music, culture, and the universal message of unity through the language of music. The EBU has previously explained the reasoning for the inclusion of Kan and the differences between them as an independent broadcaster and previous participants who were excluded.”
The finals for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest will take place on May 11 in Malmö, and Golan is competing with a song renamed Hurricane. The track’s original lyrics and song title, October Rain, were initially disqualified by the EBU for being too political since the song referenced the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.
The post Eurovision Organizers Condemn Online Abuse Targeting Contestants as Israeli Singer Receives Death Threats 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.