Eden Golan performing “October Rain” at the United Nations in New York City on Oct. 7, 2024, on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. Photo: Perry Bindelglass

Eden Golan, Israel’s representative to the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, performed her original song “October Rain” at the United Nations headquarters and in New York City’s Central Park on Monday in two separate events commemorating the one-year anniversary of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel that took place on Oct. 7, 2023.

The song Golan performed at the UN memorial event and later at Central Park’s Summer Stage was initially written for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden. However, it was rejected by the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the contest, for being too political since it references the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. Golan instead competed in the Eurovision with a reworded version of the song, titled “Hurricane,” and finished in fifth place in the international competition.

Golan also performed Israel’s national anthem “Hatikvah” at the UN memorial event, which was attended by hundreds of ambassadors, diplomats, pro-Israel activists, and family members of Hamas hostages as well as those murdered in the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7. The event was organized by the Israeli Mission to the UN in collaboration with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which live streamed the event on social media.

The ceremony’s speakers included US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Rabbi Doron Perez, whose son Daniel was murdered in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists who still hold his body captive in the Gaza Strip, and Sigal Mansouri, whose daughters, Roya and Norel, were murdered at the Nova music festival.

“Our heart breaks for the victims, for the brave soldiers who gave their lives to defend us, for the families who have been torn apart and for the 101 innocent souls still held in the terror tunnels of Gaza,” said Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon. “To the hostages and their families we say this: you are not forgotten. Every day, every moment, we carry you with us. We will never stop fighting for you until every last one of you is back home. Your names, your faces, your stories are forever etched into our hearts and we will make sure the world cannot look away.”

The UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Community Relations Council, and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum organized the community-wide gathering in Central Park on Monday night. The memorial ceremony was attended by hundreds of pro-Israel supporters and also elected officials from New York, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, state Attorney General Letitia James, and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

The event additionally featured a musical performance by Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza and student choirs, speeches by survivors of the Oct. 7 attacks, and a candle-lighting ceremony.

After her two performances on Monday, Golan wrote about commemorating the Hamas terrorist attack in an Instagram post, saying, “10.7 will be a day we will never forget.”

“Yesterday, I [sic] had the honor to perform at the UN and later on at central park to share the pain we’ve experienced and continue to feel,” she wrote. “Being a free nation has a stronger meaning today than ever, and I’m proud to stand in this room and in front of this crowd to sing my country’s national anthem.”

She concluded by saying, “We can’t stop speaking about the hostages — they all must come home.”