Kol Hakavod

Eden Golan advances to the Eurovision finals

These days in Israel the parting greeting is usually “b’sorot tovot”—which literally means “good news” as in, may we hear good news.

Mostly, for the last seven months, the news is unrelentingly bad—our soldiers die, Gazan civilians die, the world has redefined the meaning of genocide and feels increasingly hostile, the Biden Administration is cutting off our ammunition and seems uneager for us to destroy Hamas, and so on.

All of this is bad enough, but there is little on the positive side. We have destroyed some Hamas battalions and lots of tunnels, but over 100 of our people remain in captivity and the worst of the Hamas leadership is untouched. I am reminded of this 1983 Anne Murray song, “A Little Good News.” Watch it and you’ll see how little the world has changed in the last 40 years.

One thing about Israel: everything matters here. There’s no such thing as a slow news day. And lately, we sure could use a little good news to balance the bad.

This may explain my reaction to Israel’s Eden Golan advancing to the finals of the Eurovision competition after singing “Hurricane,” last night in Malmo, Sweden. The original title of the song was “October Rain.” The title and some of the lyrics were changed under pressure from the European Broadcasting Union. But the song remains an ode to the emotional maelstrom that engulfed Israel after October 7. There is a line about “dancing in the storm” a reference to the Nova Music Festival where 364 festival-goers were hunted down like animals and murdered. At least 40 more were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

Protestors wanted Israel to be banned from the competition:

As a result, for security reasons, Golan was told not to leave her hotel room. She was escorted to the competition by 100 police cars. At her rehearsal, she was booed. I can’t imagine how she felt going onto the stage last night. She had every excuse to back out or to choke. But she nailed it:

I’ve always found it interesting that Israelis pretend not to care what the world thinks while desperately longing for the world’s approval. Living here, now, I feel it. I am embarrassingly happy that Golan is advancing to the finals. Until this week, I knew absolutely nothing about Eurovision. Israel going to the finals really shouldn’t float my boat and make my heart sing. But it did.

Because here’s the thing. The decision about who advanced to the Eurovision finals tomorrow night was done by a popular vote. There’s no panel of judges in the semifinal round. No Romanian who gives the American gymnast a 6 out of 10 to make sure the Russian gets the gold. It’s a popular vote from millions of Europeans. Golan advanced. Despite the thousands who marched in the streets and the dozens who booed Golan in the rehearsal hall, probably millions, from the safety of their homes, were able to cast an anonymous vote for Israel.

Italian television revealed that 39% of Italians voted for Golan. The second place finisher got 7%. The Jew haters are loud. But they are fewer in number than they appear. The world is not so dark, after all.

After the results were announced, Golan exulted and the people around her congratulated her. You could hear them saying “kol hakavod” which in Hebrew means “congratulations” or “well done.” But it literally means, “all of the honor.” Last night, a twenty year old Israeli woman stood tall and represented her country and those who fell in the October rain with dignity and courage. She deserves all of the honor.