European Broadcasting Union approves Israel’s submission for 2025 Eurovision contest

The European Broadcasting Union has approved Israel’s song submission for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

The Kan public broadcaster, responsible for Israel’s participation in the annual competition, says in a statement that the song’s lyrics and title have been approved.

Generally, the process is a formality, although last year, Israel’s original submission, titled “October Rain,” was disqualified on charges of being too political and referencing the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

The song was then lightly edited, renamed “Hurricane” and subsequently accepted. All songs appearing at the Eurovision are barred from including political content, although the ban has been selectively enforced over the years.

Israel’s 2025 Eurovision song, which will be performed by Yuval Raphael at the contest in Switzerland in May, is slated to be unveiled by Kan on March 9.

Inside Israel, the song — which was written by Keren Peles — has stirred controversy, with a group of songwriters accusing Kan of rigging the process and improperly favoring Peles, who also wrote last year’s song and serves as a judge on the reality TV competition that selected Raphael.

Kan has rejected the accusations and said the song selection process was carried out blindly.