Eden Golan, Israel’s Eurovision Song Contest participant, has been facing criticism and apparent double standards since she arrived in Malmo for the contest amid the Israel-Hamas war, but now it’s not just from pro-Palestinian protesters.
Social media users remarked on Thursday on the absence of the host of the Eurovision elevator interviews, Rylan Clark, in the video in which Golan appears. Instead of Clark, the Eurovision-related trivia was posed by an off-screen voice.
In an additional incident, in a video published on Thursday, last year’s runner-up from Finland, the singer Käärijä, could be seen dancing with Israel’s Golan. Later on Thursday, he commented on the event in an Instagram story. “I happened to meet Israel’s Eurovision representative today, and a video was filmed of us,” the post read.
“It was then posted on social media without my permission. Despite my requests for its removal, it has not been taken down. I would like to clarify and emphasise that the video is not a political statement or an endorsement of any kind,” wrote Käärijä.
20 years-old Israeli singer, Eden Golan, was dancing with Finish singer Käärijä today, the video got thousands of hateful comments to the point that the Finish singer had to apologize for being seen with this Israeli girl.Can you think of any other country which an artist will… pic.twitter.com/6nX4bVjLl5
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) May 10, 2024
Golan responds to Polish journalist: ‘Safe for everyone’
Separately, during a press conference after she had advanced to the final, a Polish journalist asked Golan, “Have you ever thought that by being here, you bring risk and danger for other participants?”
Journalist at #Eurovision press conference asks Eden Golan a (victim-blaming) question.“You don’t need to answer that”, she’s told. But she does, and answers beautifully. pic.twitter.com/8vnn9Re4yv
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) May 10, 2024
Told she didn’t have to answer the question, Golan responded, nonetheless, “I think we’re all here for one reason, and one reason only. And the EBU [European Broadcasting Union] is taking all safety precautions to make this a safe and united place for everyone, so I think it’s safe for everyone.”
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