I volunteered to start this thread as a containment thread so ongoing debates about Israel's participation or their song do not find their way into other threads like the Green Room.

 

Several fansites including my own have decided not to cover their inclusion, so I will set this up less like a standard national thread and more as a commentary on how Israel will impact the contest this time, as they are almost certain to.

 

KAN has had their yearly 'will the Israeli conservatives pull funding' drama already, so no saviours from that front.

 

They selected last night (shockingly not even a medalist in controversial things that happened yesterday in the Eurovision sphere) Yuval Raphael from the talent show that they use to select such things. One of course hopes that she is less abrasive and dislikeable than Eden Golan, who came across without an ounce of grace or understanding the entirety of last year.

 

Raphael was in attendance at THAT music festival, which probably explains in part why she was chosen. She's also spoken about that day at the UN.

 

edit: BBC article on the subject

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceve4ww7n90o

Just waiting to see how many times the EBU has to ban their song for overly political content

this was released to little Eurofan fanfare on Sunday and I remembered it was out to listen to now.

we still have the sickening peace ballads a la Russia in the mid-10s, but this is both less insultingly on the nose than Hurricane and more subdued. Multiple languages, will probably have a big televote still, so buckle up.

Absolutely love this and is straight to the top of my list(awaits the pile on)