Defeating the odds and the tsunami of hatred against her as an Israeli, Nova survivor, Yuval Raphael just came second place at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. More than that, according to Eurovision news Israel actually reached #1 in the televote in 13 of the countries taking part — and all while facing an angry mob of pro-Palestinian protesters.
Israel’s entry this year was performed by Yuval Raphael, 24, who found herself trapped under dead bodies at the Nova festival in the Oct. 7 massacre, and has remarkably lived to tell the tale.
Competing against 35 other participants, the song Yuval sang in three languages, English, French and Hebrew, and includes a verse from the Bible:
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
(Song of Songs 8:7a)
On October 7, 2023, after a whispered call to her father from among the lifeless bodies of her friends, begging him to send the police, Yuval Raphael hung up and played dead. You can hear her chilling phone call here. After what she went through, that Yuval Raphael can still smile and continue living her life is remarkable, but to be able to sing on behalf of Israel in the face of such hatred is truly amazing. She embodies the hope and resilience that the song is all about.
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The contest is supposed to be a politics-free zone, but is nothing of the sort. The voting between countries is riddled with political maneuvering and previous songs include an entry from Ukraine about their ongoing war with Russia. Yet Yuval Raphael’s very presence at the contest has been fiercely resisted by furious protesters.
“Thousands are marching in Basel right now—not for peace, not against terror—but to protest a 24-year-old Nova massacre survivor, for singing about hope at Eurovision,” writes Hen Mazzig. Among the thousands of angry protesters was a keffiyeh-clad man who made a throat-slitting gesture at Yuval. It’s beyond comprehension that a death threat would be made towards the young survivor of mass murder.
How in the world did we get here.
During the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, Israeli singer Yuval Raphael faced a threatening gesture from a protester, who mimed a throat-slitting motion. The incident occurred as Raphael walked the turquoise carpet, accompanied by a… pic.twitter.com/FLa0vMAGbM
— ILTV Israel News (@ILTVNews) May 11, 2025
The significance of Basel
Basel lies at the border of three countries, France, Germany and Switzerland. Arriving at Basel airport you have a choice of which country you will exit into, and it was at Basel that the Zionist Congresses took place, the first being held in 1897. Yuval Raphael took the opportunity to stand where Theodore Herzl, father of modern Zionism, once stood during the fifth Zionist Congress — on the balcony of the Hotel Les Trois Rois, looking out on the River Rhine.
Two Souls Divided By Centuries, United By Posture and Purpose
Theodor Herzl, Yuval Raphael — Two frames. One balcony. A bridge between past and present. pic.twitter.com/CW0uYPnguu
— Ian Ségal ✍🏻 (@segalian) May 17, 2025
“Oppression and persecution cannot exterminate us,” said Herzl, but recognized, “No nation on earth has endured such struggles and sufferings as we have.”
Herzl was driven to work towards a Jewish state after the Dreyfus Affair in France convinced him it was a necessity, that the Jewish people needed their own homeland to be safe: “To live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes.”
“The idea I have developed in this pamphlet is an ancient one: It is the restoration of the Jewish State. . . The decisive factor is our propelling force. And what is that force? The plight of the Jews.”1
The thousands that came to rail against the Jewish state seem oblivious that it was antisemitic hatred like theirs which propelled the Zionist movement into being in the first place, ironically from that very place in Basel.
And it wasn’t just random college students who were vociferous in their opposition of Israel. Both Spain and Belgium refused to broadcast Yuval’s performance, instead leaving a black screen with the message “When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine,” and “Ceasefire now, stop the genocide” respectively, according to YNet News.
There were also protesters in the audience, booing and attempting to jump on stage to disrupt her performance. Yuval Raphael had tight security from Israeli intelligence at all times, and had practiced being booed in order to be able to perform without being distracted. One of those in the crowd who went to support Yuval described one incident which he managed to salvage with his quick thinking:
“We went down into the hall itself to find our places and there was a Dutch couple, locals who were speaking the language, holding the flag with a picture of the act representing Holland… What happened was that as soon as Yuval started to sing, they began to yell and he jumped up and started spraying paint on us all. The guards immediately leapt towards him — he was really tall, over 2.10 meters [around 7 feet tall]. They tried to detain him but he resisted strongly. I saw Yuval, just about to look out into the whole audience, expecting to see the celebratory atmosphere of the Eurovision, and I thought to myself, “What am I going to do?” Any moment the cameras will start to pan over in our direction, and here we all are covered in paint. So I took the Israeli flag and I covered it all up, and in fact it became a tallit [Jewish prayer shawl]. This is a tallit for the people of Israel this evening, and I wish us all only love and joy.”2
Ultimately, the fact that Yuval Raphael came second out of all the contestants shows that there are many people standing with Israel, and refusing to take part in the hate-fest. Azerbaijan, France, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland. Belgium and Australia all gave Israel the maximum number of points (12) in the popular vote, along with a category labelled “the rest of the world,” while Ireland, Cyprus, Finland, San Marino, Norway and Czechia all gave 10 points.
All together, Israel was top of the public vote, showing that even though the haters may be loud, the silent majority expressed their love for Israel. In fact, Israel received the highest pubic vote in the history of the competition, according to the Times of Israel.3
Love triumphed over hate.
Here are the words of the hope-filled song, “A New Day Will Rise”
And even if you say goodbye
You’ll never go away
You are the rainbow of my sky
My colors in the grey
My only wish upon a star
Sunshine in the day
The only song that my piano ever plays
And even if you say goodbye
You’ll always be around
To lift me up and take me high
Keep my feet close to the ground
Are you proud of me tonight
Dreams are coming true
I choose the light
Nothing to lose if I lose you
New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don’t cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But we will stay
Even if you say goodbye
Et même si tu dis adieu
Tu ne partiras jamais
T’es l’arc-en-ciel de mon ciel bleu
Mes couleurs dans le gris
Et mon seul souhait sous un ciel d’art
Un rayon dans ma journée
La seule chanson que mon piano peut jouer
New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don’t cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But we will stay
Even if you say
New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don’t cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But you will stay
The love of my life
מים רבים Mayim rabim
לא יכבו Lo yekhabu
את האהבה Et ha’ahava
ונהרות לא ישטפוה UNeharot lo yishtefuha
New day will rise
Everyone cries
Don’t cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But we will stay
Even if you say goodbye
A new day will rise
New day will rise
- https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/excerpts-from-quot-the-jewish-state-quot
- YNet News
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-gets-top-public-vote-from-14-countries-in-eurovision-plus-rest-of-the-world/
