«Palestinian Lady Gaga» is going to sing at Eurovision

Bashar Murad, 31, said he did not want “my occupier” to sit on the ground. Israel to take part Photo: David Corio/Redferns

The singer known as the «Palestinian Lady Gaga» is in line to compete in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, which risks being overshadowed by the war between Israel and Hamas. < /p>

Bashar Murad, whose hits include Intifada on the Dance Floor, has vowed to bring a «Palestinian voice» to the kitschy extravaganza if he wins Iceland's public vote and speaks for the country.

p>

Eurovision has strict rules prohibiting political content in the competition, and it may disqualify a song that it believes violates this rule.

Eden Golan will represent Israel at the competition with the song October Rain. Photo: REUTERS

Organizers are carefully studying the Israeli song October Rain, sung by 20-year-old Eden Golan.

There are concerns that the lyrics of the ballad may not only be about the weather, but also be a veiled reference to the October Hamas speech. 7 attacked Israel.

When asked if he wanted Israel to compete, 31-year-old Murad replied: “Of course, I don’t want my occupier there.”

p > “But now my main task is to bring the Palestinian voice to the main stage for the first time in history.”

Bashar Murad, in Ramallah, West Bank, where part of his music video is filmed. Photo: David Corio/Redferns

He's featured with «Wild West,» a cowboy song ostensibly about freedom.

The video contains numerous references to his homeland. It takes him through orange groves in the West Bank before flying over the separation barrier and looking down at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

Landing in a snowy Icelandic-style landscape, two cowboy versions of the singer, who was born and lives in East Jerusalem, battle each other.

One of them, clearly a metaphor for Israel, is dressed in drag. black and armed with a pistol. While the other, supposedly representing the Palestinians, is dressed in white and armed with a snowball.

The Icelandic public will vote on whether Murad will represent the country at the Eurovision final in Malmo, Sweden or not. May 11.

Icelandic band Hatari in Palestinian colors at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv

He competes in Saturday's national final with the song — written by Einar Stefansson of the Icelandic band Hatari, which raised a banner featuring Palestinian flags at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv.

The ban on political songs at Eurovision has come under pressure before. Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.

Malmo authorities are preparing for demonstrations if four-time winner Israel submits an entry.

“This is not a competition.” between governments»

More than 1,000 Swedish musicians wrote an open letter calling for a ban on Israel. Finnish and Irish activists have demanded that their public broadcasters support the ban.

“This is not a competition between governments,” said Noel Curran, director general of the European Broadcasters Union, which organizes the competition.