RSS
Israel’s Eden Golan Reveals She Was Forced to Conceal Identity, Wear Disguise in Sweden During Eurovision
Eden Golan, Israel’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, reacts 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
Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, shared on social media on Thursday that she had to hide her identity outside her hotel during the song competition in Malmo, Sweden, earlier this year because her safety was being threatened by anti-Israel activists who were opposed to Israel’s participation in the contest.
“It’s been exactly two months since the Eurovision Song Contest, and as I was scrolling through my camera roll the other night, I came across this pic and really wanted to share it with you guys,” Golan wrote in the caption of a photo she posted on Instagram, which shows her wearing a wig to disguise herself while in Malmo.
“At the moment, I thought it was funny but didn’t realize how scary and dangerous it really was,” Golan added in the caption, written in both Hebrew and English. “Many people know that we were surrounded by the best security but didn’t know about those moments when I had to dress up for the little time we did spend outside the hotel.”
Golan came in fifth place in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Hurricane.” She made it to the top five after being booed on stage by anti-Israel protesters, facing death threats and having one of the competition’s jury members refusing to give her points because of his personal opposition to Israel’s military actions during the ongoing war targeting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s sad that we have returned to a time where a Jewish Israeli woman has to hide parts of her identity to avoid being harmed,” Golan further wrote in the Instagram post on Thursday. “It’s definitely a moment I will never forget for the rest of my life. I know there are better days ahead of us.”
Thousands of anti-Israel activists and supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel protested in Malmo, including outside the singer’s hotel room, because they were opposed to the Jewish state’s involvement in the competition. Golan was also ordered by Israel’s national security agency Shin Bet to mostly stay in her hotel room during the anti-Israel demonstrations for her safety, except to attend performances, and the Israeli delegation repeatedly faced hostility from other participants.
For several months before the Eurovision finals took place in May, anti-Israel activists attempted, unsuccessfully, to convince artists to withdraw from the song contest because of Israel’s participation and to pressure the European Broadcasting Union to remove Israel from this year’s competition.
Golan’s song for the Eurovision Song Contest was originally titled “October Rain” and initially included lyrics that referenced the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel. However, that song was disqualified for being too political.
A number of Jewish organizations criticized the fact that Golan was forced to conceal her identity for her safety while competing in the Eurovision.
“It’s appalling that more than 80 years after the Holocaust, Jews must again hide their identity in Europe. Unchecked antisemitism is to blame,” said the American Jewish Committee.
The nonprofit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace said it’s “sad that a Jewish singer needs to hide like this,” while the Combat Antisemitism Movement called it “tragic and wrong.”
The post Israel’s Eden Golan Reveals She Was Forced to Conceal Identity, Wear Disguise in Sweden During Eurovision first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.