Israel has finished in second place at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Yuval Raphael of Israel impressed the judges and audience at the contest, held in Basel, Switzerland, earning the top spot in the public televote but ultimately falling behind Austria.
Although Israel landed 14th in the jury rankings among the 26 finalists, the performance was well-received by viewers across Europe.
The country received a full 12 points from only one national jury — Azerbaijan.
Raphael, 24, hailing from Ra’anana and a survivor of the October 7th Nova music festival attack, delivered a performance of her ballad “New Day Will Rise.”
Israel’s Eurovision entry Yuval Raphael delivers powerful performance of her song ‘New Day Will Rise’ during the Eurovision final.
She ended her performance by declaring ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ which translates as ‘The People of Israel Live.’
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 17, 2025
At least two protesters tried to rush the stage, although they were thwarted by security.
Anti-Israel protester tried to storm the stage as Yuval Raphael sang her song at the Eurovision Song Contest
He then tried to make her lose focus by shouting “Free Palestine”
Yuval survived the Nova Music Festival Massacre by playing dead for hours under a pile of dead bodies pic.twitter.com/bBGn2baOdM
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 17, 2025
Demonstrations took place outside the venue as pro-Palestinian activists clashed with local police.
Pro-Palestine rioters are clashing with Swiss police outside the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel, where Eurovision is taking place.
They are trying to reach and lynch Israel’s contestant, Yuval Raphael.
Whenever you see this flag , you see violence!
— Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) May 17, 2025
Meanwhile, Spanish television broadcast a message before the performance calling for “peace and justice in Palestine.”
Spanish Media. You have a short memory. 2004 Madrid, Jihadist terrorists from Al-Qaeda blew up 10 buses killing 193 of your civilians and 2000 injured.
Spanish TV just cut to this while Israel were on @Eurovision
Yuval Raphael was a survivor of a Jihadist massacre too, she… pic.twitter.com/Ec0SvHZ8Yf
— Kosher (@koshercockney) May 17, 2025
The eventual winner of the contest was a singer known simply as JJ, an Austrian-Filipino singer with a soprano voice who identifies as queer.
Last year’s winner was a non-binary singer from Switzerland by the name of “Nemo” who broke the trophy on stage just minutes after claiming victory.
Switzerland’s Non-Binary Nemo Wins Eurovision 2024 Contest – Then Breaks the Trophy on Stage
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