Israeli foreign minister: 'Let's show all the haters' at Eurovision

Shortly before the start of the Eurovision Song Contest final, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz backed Israeli participant Eden Golan.

"Eden proudly stands against immense hate and anti-Semitism. Tonight, let's show all the haters who's leading the way!" Katz wrote on the social media platform X.

Israel's participation and contribution had faced enormous headwinds in the run-up to and during the music festival. Due to the war in Gaza, there were calls for Israel to be excluded from the competition.

Thousands gathered at demonstrations in the Swedish host city of Malmö to protest against the participation of the 20-year-old Israeli artist Golan.

The organizer, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), allowed Israel to take part on the grounds that it was a non-political event.

However, under pressure from the EBU, Israel had to change the lyrics and song title of an initial version, considered too political with the title "October Rain" due to possible references to the massacres carried out by Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in Israel on October 7.

The revised song is called "Hurricane." Golan is one of 25 acts in the final. In the betting odds, she was in second place behind Croatia shortly before the show began.