Nearly two years after she competed for Israel in the Eurovision song contest, Eden Golan still carries both the aura of a winner and lingering trauma.
“I’m always afraid. I look in every direction like a security guard,” she says in an interview to be published Friday in the 7 Nights supplement and Yedioth+. “I’ve had recurring anxiety since Eurovision: I walk into a place, a restaurant or a show, and someone shoots me from behind. I have recurring nightmares of people chasing me and killing me. But I’m learning to live with it. No one will silence me anymore.”
Golan says she encounters antisemitism almost everywhere. “Quite a few of my performances abroad had protests. In Switzerland they threw red paint at the entrance to the venue, supposedly to say the blood is on our hands. There was one protest with signs against Bibi and against me. After all the threats I received, there’s definitely fear for my life, but what could be worse than what I went through at Eurovision?”
Since her breakout in 2024, the 22-year-old has maintained an intense performance schedule, including hundreds of flights to dozens of countries, with only forced breaks due to the war. “It’s a number of flights you can’t even comprehend,” she says. “Sometimes I wake up in some country and don’t remember where I am or where I was a few days ago, because everything blends together.”
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Eden Golan has faced criticism of her recent music video, which some said was provocative
(Photo: Shahar Arbiv)
Alongside her international shows, Golan has performed at major ceremonies in Israel, taken the stage on The Next Star shows and completed her first Festigal run. She also was recently invited to participate in the Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony.
At the same time, her third single, “Sexy,” has drawn attention — along with criticism of its music video, which some said was provocative.
“I do what feels right to me and what I believe in,” she pushes back. “Am I supposed to cover myself in a hijab, wrap myself up and only then post online so no one says anything?”
First published: 18:28, 03.26.26