Israel's Eurovision Song Contest entry, originally titled 'October Rain' has been changed to 'Hurricane' after the original track was criticised for being "too political".

Organisers reportedly requested Israel to submit another song after "October Rain" was believed to have lyrics that were politically charged-relating to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Over 30,000 Palestinians are reported to have died as a result of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which was initiated in response to 7 October attacks by Hamas, in which an estimated 1,160 Israeli civilians were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.

The original lyrics of "October Rain" which Israeli State broadcaster KAN have published on their website read: “They were all good children, every one of them,” and, “There is no air left to breathe / There is no place for me.”

Kan initially refused to change the song, saying it would prefer to withdraw from the contest - but Israel's President, Isaac Herzog, later called for "necessary adjustments" to ensure the country could participate.

Kan said: "The president emphasised that at this time in particular, when those who hate us seek to push aside and boycott the state of Israel from every stage, Israel must sound its voice with pride and its head high and raise its flag in every world forum, especially this year."

The revised song, 'Hurricane', contains vague lyrics about overcoming struggle, similar to many other pop songs that have been entered into the competition over the years.
One section of the lyrics reads: “Some stole the moon tonight / Took my light / Everything is black and white / Who’s the fool that told you boys don’t cry? / Hours and hours empowers / Life is no game but it’s ours”.

Another significant change is the word "flowers" has been replaced by "powers". According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, the former is often used to denote Israel's war fatalities.

The spoken-word section, which Golan delivers in Hebrew, has also been altered. The original references to poisoned air and dead children have been switched for the more generic: "No need for big words, only prayers. Even if it's hard to see, you always leave me one small light."

The song closes out with Russian/Israeli singer Eden Golan singing “I’m still broken from this hurricane”.

Eden Golan,  was selected via a TV talent show to represent Israel at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest after performing a cover of Aerosmith’s 'Don’t Want to Miss a Thing' in the finale.

The performance was dedicated to the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attacks, and she performed the song surrounded on stage by empty chairs.

In February, Eurovision organisers said they were scrutinising the previous entry.

In a statement last month the EBU said: “The EBU is currently in the process of scrutinising the lyrics, a process which is confidential between the EBU and the broadcaster until a final decision has been taken. All broadcasters have until 11 March to formally submit their entries,” the EBU said at the time.

The deadline for song entries is today.

Eurovision bans political content in the songs entered into the competition when Belarus was excluded from the Eurovision in 2021 after both their original entry and their revised entry were both deemed to be 'too political'.

Russia was excluded from Eurovision in 2022 due to the invasion of Ukraine, as the organisers said that allowing the country to compete would bring the competition “into disrepute”.

Ireland's 2024 song contest entry Bambie Thug says they believe that Israel should be excluded from their year's competition, in line with Russia's exclusion saying "It's the same rules for everyone".