Palestinian pop singer Bashar Murad hopes to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest in May and bring a Palestinian voice to the event, he said.
However, the man dubbed the ‘Palestinian Lady Gaga’ whose songs include ‘Intifada on the Dance Floor’ could pose a headache for event organisers.
Eurovision, which attracts millions of viewers, presents itself as a non-political event and can disqualify those it deems to be violating this rule.
Alarm bells have already been raised over Israel’s entry, ‘October Rain’ sung by Russian-Israeli Eden Golan, 20, after a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) informed an Israeli official that the entry of the country was too political and violated the norms of impartiality.
Reports that the ballad was being investigated spread last week after leaked lyrics suggested the song focused on the October 7 massacre by Hamas.
Palestinian pop singer Bashar Murad (pictured) hopes to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest in May and bring a Palestinian voice to the event, he said.
Alarm bells have already been raised over Israel’s entry, ‘October Rain’ sung by 20-year-old Russian-Israeli singer Eden Golan (pictured), after a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) informed a Israeli official. that the country’s entry was too political and violated the rules of impartiality
This year, the competition will take place from May 7 to 11 in the Swedish city of Malmo, in a context of protests and boycotts due to the continuation of the war in Gaza – sparked by the attack – which has affected cultural events throughout Europe .
Eurovision Song Contest organizers have resisted calls for Israel to be excluded from the competition, but said last week they were examining the Israeli submission.
Iceland will choose its contestant on Saturday, and Murad will compete in the national final with a song co-written by Einar Stefansson of the Icelandic band Hatari, known for raising a banner of Palestinian flags during Eurovision 2019.
Murad, 31, has hits like ‘Intifada on the Dance Floor’ and aims to represent Iceland with his song ‘Wild West’, which is about an artist’s desire for freedom.
Its music video, however, suggests it could pose a problem for Eurovision organisers, as it is filled with symbols of Palestinian resistance.
In it, the pop star is seen driving through an orange grove in the West Bank, flying over the separation barrier in a plane and looking towards Jerusalem, specifically the golden dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the eastern district. from the city.
Finally, the video shows him landing in a snowy region that looks like Iceland.
He is then seen confronting a black-clad and armed cowboy, while holding a snowball, evoking an unbalanced struggle between good and evil.
“I wanted to illustrate how many obstacles we as Palestinians have to go through to be heard… we are excluded from all major platforms,” ​​Murad told Reuters news agency in an interview.
To the Times, he said: “This is my personal experience of living in Jerusalem and being born under occupation, being separated from other Palestinians and having to go through checkpoints to get to them, and not being able to travel to Gaza.”
Under the rules of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the competition, participants are chosen by EBU member broadcasters to represent their countries across Europe and beyond.
In the entry to Bashar Murad’s ‘Wild West’, the pop star is seen driving through an orange grove in the West Bank, flying over the separation barrier in a plane and looking towards Jerusalem, specifically the golden dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. in the eastern district of the city (pictured)
He is also seen confronting a black-clad, armed cowboy while holding a snowball, evoking an unbalanced struggle between good and evil.
There is no Palestinian entry because there is no Palestinian broadcaster that is a member of the EBU.
Russia was excluded from the race in 2022 for its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Singers of any nationality can participate in the Icelandic national qualification if they sing their song in the first semi-final in Icelandic.
Murad, who was born and lives in Jerusalem, said it was difficult to learn the song in Icelandic, but he saw some similarities with the Arabic language.
In his entry ‘Wild West’, Murad told Reuters it tells the story of pushing limits and pursuing dreams against all odds.
‘Everyone has theories about my involvement. And everyone is politicizing my existence when in reality I am just a human being who had a dream and applied for this contest fairly.’
When asked if Murad wants Israel to participate in the competition, he said: “Of course, I don’t want my occupier to be there.”
“But my main goal now is to be able to bring, for the first time in history, a Palestinian voice to the main stage.”
The annual contest has been won four times by Israel, where it is popular and often seen as a barometer of the country’s standing internationally.
Murad, who was born and lives in Jerusalem, said it was difficult to learn the song in Icelandic, but he saw some similarities with the Arabic language.
Eden Goldan (pictured) is the Israeli entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. A senior member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) reportedly informed an Israeli official that the country’s entry into October Rain was too political and violated impartiality rules.
This year, its own entry is already causing a stir.
Eden Golan’s ‘October Rain’ reportedly includes phrases like ‘there’s no air left to breathe’ and ‘they were all good kids, every one of them’, as well as alluding to people trapped in shelters during Hamas attacks.
The song also references “flowers,” which are said to be military code for war deaths in Israel.
The controversial censorship, reported by Israeli news site Walla!, comes after a rap song calling for British singer Dua Lipa and American model Bella Hadid to be murdered topped Israeli charts. The pro-war drill song was criticized for telling pro-Palestine celebrities that they deserve “what’s coming.”
As a non-political event, Eurovision can disqualify contestants deemed to have violated its strict impartiality rules.
Senior Israeli officials and public figures, however, have said that any attempt to criminalize the ballad would be “scandalous.”
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar took to social media to complain about reports of increased scrutiny over Israel’s presentation.
The Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision for Ukraine in 2022
“The song of Israel, which will be performed by Eden Golan, is a moving song, which expresses the feelings of the people and the country these days, and is not political,” he wrote.
“The EBU’s intention to disqualify the Israeli song for Eurovision is scandalous.” Israeli-British illusionist Uri Geller also commented.
“For God’s sake,” he said. ‘The winning entry from Ukraine (Kalush Orchestra) in 2022 focused on the resilience of the Ukrainian people, so what’s the problem?
“It’s clearly a different rule because it’s Israel.”