Israel agrees to change Eurovision song lyrics

Israel has agreed to change the lyrics of its Eurovision Song Contest entry after it was found to contain references to Palestine. The song, titled “Set Me Free,” was chosen to represent Israel in the competition, but has faced backlash from Palestinian activists who called for a boycott of the event.

The controversy arose from the lyrics of the song, which include the line “I am not your toy, you can’t just dip me in your waterboy.” Critics argued that the reference to “dipping” could be seen as an allusion to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

In response to the criticism, Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, announced that they would be changing the lyrics of the song to remove any potentially offensive content. It is not yet clear what the new version of the song will entail.

The Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in May. Israel has previously won the competition four times, with their most recent victory coming in 2018 with the song “Toy” by Netta Barzilai.