tel aviv (jta) | A member of the Black Hebrew community will represent Israel at this year’s Eurovision song contest.
Eddie Butler’s solo “Ze Hazman,” or “This is the Time,” was selected in a televised competition in March as the Israeli submission for the summer songfest.
Butler, 34, was born to black Americans who immigrated to the Jewish state as part of the Black Hebrews, a community that considers itself descended from the ancient Israelites (although their story is rejected by Bible scholars).
Butler is no stranger to Eurovision, having competed as part of the Israeli quartet Eden in 1999.