The second song submission by Israel was rejected by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for being "too political" to compete in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in May.
Following the union's rejection of Israel's initial song choice for the five-day contest beginning on May 7 in Sweden, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials told Ynet news on Wednesday that the alternate entry titled "Dance Forever" has also been rejected.
After the union disqualified "October Rain" for having "too political" lyrics, and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation's steadfast refusal to change the song's lyrics or melody, numerous entities have been actively seeking a solution to the impasse.
While it is known that countries intending to compete in Eurovision with songs containing political messages have previously been barred, it was reported that the broadcasting union would review Israel's entry and decide on its suitability.
Although a song containing political messages rejected by the union will not be added to the competition, Israel will be deemed "ineligible" to take part in the competition.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said it is important for Israel to participate in Eurovision, "but being smart is also important, not just being right."
Israeli authorities continue to seek a solution with the union. However, insiders involved in the negotiations are "pessimistic" about reaching a favorable outcome.
On Sunday, Israel said that it may withdraw from this year's Eurovision Song Contest if organizers reject the lyrics from its entry as too political.
Eden Golan and her song "October Rain" were chosen to compete in the annual competition, which is being held in May in Malmo, Sweden.
Media reports have suggested that the song, which is mostly in English with some Hebrew words, references the victims of Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.
That could mean the ballad and its 20-year-old Russian-Israeli singer fall foul of Eurovision rules, which ban political statements.
"They were all good children, every one of them," says a line from Golan's song, according to the website of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) which published them in full.
"There is no air left to breathe, There is no place for me," the song ends.
Israel's Noa Kirel placed third in last year's competition in Liverpool, England, behind Finland's Kaarija and Sweden's Loreen.
Loreen's victory takes the competition back to Sweden, 50 years after ABBA's victory with "Waterloo."
Israel became the first non-European country to enter Eurovision in 1973 and has since won the competition four times.
But its participation and hosting of the event have regularly run into controversy.
In 2019, Icelandic band Hatari, who previously challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Nordic folk wrestling match, made pro-Palestinian statements during the vote count in Tel Aviv.
Organizers also gave pop queen Madonna a ticking off after her dancers flouted political neutrality rules by wearing Israeli and Palestinian flags on their costumes.
The EBU this week rejected calls for Israel to be barred from competing altogether because of the war in the Gaza Strip and the civilian casualties.
The organizers were criticized for excluding Russia for its war in Ukraine, but including Israel, which is accused of carrying out genocide in Gaza.
There have also been calls for a boycott of the competition in several countries, including Finland and Iceland.
Previously, over 1,000 Swedish recording artists have urged the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to exclude Israel from participating. The organizers of the ESC had previously rejected calls for Israel to be excluded, citing the non-political nature of the music event.
However, they excluded Russia following its attack on Ukraine.
