Channel 12’s musical reality show, “Rising Star”, aired its season finale on Tuesday, during which 20-year-old Eden Golan was chosen to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest in May.
During Tuesday’s show, hosts Assi Azar and Rotem Sela paid tribute to fallen IDF soldier Captain (res.) Shaul Greenglick, who fell in battle in Gaza weeks after auditioning for “Rising Star”.
Azar and Sela played a song recorded by Greenglick, which he had planned to perform in the next stage of the competition, before falling in battle. His family members came on stage and sang the song together.
Greenglick sang a song by Hanan Ben Ari during his audition, after which he announced that he was dropping out of the competition “in favor of an old dream, to fight for my country.”
"I imagined this year differently; a year of ambitions and fulfilling dreams. Now I am living an old dream, to fight for my country and we are currently in the middle of the night ... a new dream and another dream will have to wait a little longer. Thank you for the warm and encouraging words and for the good reviews. I hope this period passes and that it will pass quickly," he wrote at the time.
"I promise to continue fighting for this country that I love and for my dreams in the future. At the moment there is only one thing on my mind and that is to continue fighting in the darkness until we see the light. This is the end of our broadcasts for the upcoming season," added Greenglick.