A message of solidarity from Lebanon: Lebanese singer Carine Bassili performs “October Rain” in Arabic as a gesture of support, marking one year since the October 7th massacre in Israel.

Lebanese singer Carine Bassili is making headlines. As the commemoration events for the first anniversary of the October 7th massacre approach, Bassili has decided to record Eden Golan‘s song, “October Rain,” as a show of support for Israel. This song was previously disqualified by the European Broadcasting Union from participating in the Eurovision contest, citing it as too political.

Carine is a Christian singer born and raised in Lebanon who moved to the United States a few years ago. In recent years, she has taken a clear stance in support of Israel, even at great personal cost. She has shared that she is no longer in contact with her mother, part of her family in Lebanon, and most of her friends. Bassili has been issued a lifetime ban from entering Lebanon due to her messages and calls for peace between the two countries.

The Making of “October Rain” and Its Powerful Message

Earlier this month, Bassili announced on her Instagram account that the music video accompanying the song was filmed at the Nova Exhibition in Los Angeles, California. She wrote:

“It was a very emotional day. This is something I never thought I would do, partly because I’m Christian, but I felt the need to sing and film something that would express solidarity with the Jewish people.”

She introduced the Arabic version of “October Rain” with the powerful words: “SILENCE in the face of EVIL is itself EVIL.” These words aptly summarize the important message the singer wishes to convey.

This is not the first time Carine Bassili has stood by the Jewish people. A quick glance at her Instagram page reveals her extensive online activity and interviews with Israeli and international media, promoting and encouraging connections between the Lebanese and Israeli people – hoping for peace between the two nations.

In May, during the Eurovision contest held in Malmö about six months ago, the singer released an Arabic version of the song “Hurricane” in solidarity with the bullying experienced by Israel’s representative, Eden Golan. Behind this decision was a clear statement:

“It’s quite difficult to sing this song, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I wanted to support her (Eden) because I felt that an artist sings in a music competition, and it’s very unfair how she was treated […] I didn’t know if anyone would hear the song, if she was going to hear it, but we wanted to do something from my side […] and it’s also a statement to Jews: ‘There are many haters in Lebanon, but there are some people in Lebanon who don’t hate you. We want to show our support, we don’t want to be silent anymore, we’ve been quiet long enough. It’s time for Lebanese Christians to stand with Israel as we did in history.'”

Israel and Lebanon: A Complex Relationship

Since October 7th, the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which controls Lebanon, has joined in support of the terrorist organization Hamas and has been firing dozens of rockets daily towards Israeli settlements. Both terrorist organizations enjoy financial and political support from Iran. As a result of the rocket fire and fear of invasion into northern settlements, tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes and become refugees. After a year of enduring numerous attacks, the Israeli government decided to destroy Hezbollah’s capabilities to invade Israeli territory to allow its residents to return home.

Lebanon has a complex relationship between various communities such as Shiite Muslims, Sunnis, Christians, and Druze. Power struggles and attempts to balance between these communities have shaped Lebanon’s political and social structure. Israel has sought peace agreements with Lebanon and even signed a security agreement in 1983, but in 1984 the agreement failed, partly due to opposition from groups like Hezbollah, which was established two years earlier.

Israel and Lebanon in Eurovision

In 2005, Lebanon aspired to join the Eurovision contest as a member of the European Broadcasting Union. Lebanon chose a representative for the competition, Aline Lahoud, a Christian singer and actress, and even selected a beautiful song in French, “Quand Tout S’Enfuit“. Israel did not object to Lebanon’s participation in the contest, but Lebanon, upon discovering belatedly that Israel was participating in the competition and that according to the contest rules, Lebanon was obligated to broadcast the Israeli song and allow its citizens to vote for it, decided to withdraw from the competition about two months before it took place.

Israel in Eurovision 2024

“Hurricane” is the name of the song performed by singer Eden Golan, who was chosen to represent Israel after winning the tenth season of “HaKochav Haba”. Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 194 points, and in the grand final reached fifth place with 375 points. In the public vote, Israel came in second place, just 14 points behind the first place.

This is the second consecutive time that Israel has reached the top five, an achievement it had not attained since its streak of successes in 1998-1999.