Did you know there was another, lesser-known Eurovision controversy involving Israel – besides the boycott threats and vile behavior of protesters and some of the other contestants towards Yuval Raphael?
It actually involved Iceland – one of the countries to call for Israel to be expelled, no less.
It turns out, Iceland’s entry RÓA by VÆB (no idea how of any of that is pronounced!) has been tainted by accusations of plagiarism. And the song they allegedly plagiarized is Israeli – Hatunat HaShana (“Wedding of the Year”), originally performed by Eyal Golan and Itay Levy.
Ophir Cohen, the composer of Chatunat HaShana performed by Eyal Golan and Itay Levy, contacted both the EBU and the Icelandic copyright organization last month, claiming that the melody of the Icelandic duo Væb’s Eurovision entry was identical to his.
As a result, the copyright royalties for the Icelandic electronic music duo Væb’s Eurovision song RÓA have been frozen in Iceland for four months while an investigation is underway regarding Cohen’s plagiarism allegations. Cohen, who composed Chatunat HaShana, released in 2017, argues that the Icelandic song has copied his melody. The song from Iceland is credited to Halldór Helgi Matthíasson and Matthías Davið Matthíasson, the members of Væb, along with two other composers.
“The Icelandic copyright society recognized that there’s a problem, and that’s a good start,” Cohen told Haaretz. The appeal to the Icelandic copyright organization was made with the help of ACUM, Israel’s copyright organization. “Anyone with common sense who listens to both songs can hear that this is a blatant copyright violation, which has already become the subject of a parody on Eretz Nehederet,” Cohen added.
According to N12, on February 25, Cohen formally requested that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) disqualify the song from Eurovision. “The EBU responded by telling us to resolve the matter directly with the Icelandic team,” Cohen stated. “Disqualifying the song is not currently on the table, and we’re not even sure we want to pursue that path. Mistakes happen. If I were to accidentally use someone else’s melody and realized my mistake, I wouldn’t fight it—I would apologize, give credit, reach an agreement, and not evade responsibility. That’s exactly what the Icelandic team is doing right now. I hope they reconsider.”
Efforts to reach a direct settlement between Cohen—represented by lawyers Ido Hitman and Maayan Roblin Malka—and the Icelandic duo are still ongoing. In a letter sent last week, Cohen’s lawyers wrote: “Chatunat HaShana is a well-known song in Israel and internationally, released in July 2017. To date, the song has garnered over 18 million views on YouTube, demonstrating its popularity and recognition. Given the high-profile nature of the Eurovision Song Contest and the global exposure it provides, this situation poses a serious risk to our client’s copyright. Every additional day that the song remains part of the competition exacerbates the damage. Unauthorized use without appropriate compensation must be prevented, and our client intends to take all necessary legal action to stop this serious infringement.”
Last Saturday, the attorneys representing Væb responded, acknowledging receipt of the letter and stating that they were reviewing the claims and would reply soon. Neither the EBU nor Væb have issued an official response at this time.
I was going to create a video comparing the two, but thankfully others have already done so. You be the judges:
Definitely smells like plagiarism to me.
While the issue has apparently not yet been resolved, karma had its own way of being the great equalizer. While Israel’s Yuval Raphael came in second place, winning the popular vote, VÆB came in second last place.
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