Yuval Raphael representing Israel walks on stage during the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest Opening Ceremony at St. Jakobshalle on May 17, 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. (Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Israel’s Yuval Raphael defied expectations to come in second in the annual Eurovision song contest on Saturday, narrowly losing out to Austria after being buoyed by the popular vote but also drawing points from the juries in 14 countries.
“Thank you, Europe! Am Yisrael chai!” Raphael shouted from the stage after her performance.
Azerbaijan awarded Israel all 12 of the points its jury could give, in a departure from last year, when Israel did not win any country’s full jury points. Azerbaijan is a key oil, weapons and intelligence trading partner with Israel.
For many Israelis, Eurovision is seen as something of a barometer of their country’s status on the international stage. This year, the second contest during the war in Gaza, Raphael’s participation drew some pro-Palestinian protests, including an unsuccessful attempt to storm the stage during the final, but the climate in Basel, Switzerland, was less volatile than in Sweden last year, according to reports from the scene.
“Lots of cheering for Israel in the arena,” Alex Marshall, a reporter for The New York Times, wrote in the newspaper’s live blog from the arena. “I heard one man boo and a few brief protest whistles over its military campaign in Gaza, but compared with last year in Malmo, Sweden, the atmosphere doesn’t feel tense.”
The popular vote, in which audience members can vote up to 20 times each, suggested both strong mobilization by Jewish voters abroad but also widespread support for Raphael from other viewers. Israel won the full points from 12 countries — including Spain, whose official broadcaster showed a statement of opposition to the war before Raphael’s performance — as well as in a category for voters not associated with any of the Eurovision competitors. It also won partial points from another 22 countries. Only Armenia, Croatia and Poland awarded no audience points to Israel.
Raphael, who survived Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by lying under bodies at the Nova music festival massacre, performed the anthemic “New Day Will Rise.” She said prior to the finals that she was prepared to tune out any boos and was solely focused on representing her country on stage.
Her outfit for the final was a black dress whose arms, when lifted, gave the appearance of bat wings — a symbol associated with the young Bibas brothers who were abducted from Israel on Oct. 7 and killed in Gaza. The designer said the symbolism had been unintentional, saying, “Sometimes the universe does its own styling.”
Eden Golan, last year’s Israel act, presented Israel’s jury points while wearing a dress with a neckline detail that echoed the yellow ribbons that represent the hostages still being held in Gaza. She had promised a surprise after saying she was prohibited from wearing a yellow ribbon pin onstage, where political signifiers are banned.
