An Israeli soldier has been killed in Gaza weeks after auditioning for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. Shaul Greenglick was one of three soldiers recently reported dead by the Israel Defense Forces, via The Times Of Israel, following the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
According to Billboard, Greenglick performed for Israel’s The Next Star, a singing competition series through which the country’s Eurovision contestant is chosen, while on furlough last month. He earned a place in the show’s next round, but he reportedly dropped out of the contest to return to his military duties.
It comes just days after Yotam Haim, the drummer for Israeli heavy metal band Persephore, was killed by the Israel Defense Forces after being mistaken for Hamas fighter.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Israeli military have said 170 of its soldiers have been killed. 21,800 people in Gaza, two-thirds of them women and children, have died in the conflict, according to the health ministry in Gaza. About 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas on October 7.
Meanwhile, Eurovision was subject to backlash and boycott calls after allowing Israel to compete in next year’s competition. In addition, The Times Of Israel stated that The Association of Composers and Lyricists in Iceland told the country not to participate in next year’s Eurovision competition unless Israel is banned from competing.
Despite the protests, the European Broadcasting Union said in a statement that it currently has no plans to prohibit Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest: “The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition for public broadcasters from all over Europe and the Middle East. It is a contest for broadcasters – not for governments – and the Israeli public broadcaster has been participating in the contest for 50 years.”
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