A criminal complaint has been filed with the Swiss Police after a pro-Palestinian protestor made a “throat-slitting” gesture toward Israel’s Eurovision entrant, Yuval Raphael, during the official opening parade in Basel.
Raphael, a survivor of the 7 October Nova festival massacre, is representing Israel with her song New Day Will Rise and has been travelling with an enhanced security detail due to growing threats and calls to boycott her appearance.
Footage shared on social media shows a man in a keffiyeh, waving a Palestinian flag and wearing a “boycott Israel apartheid” t-shirt, walking beside the Israeli delegation’s bus. At the start of the video, he appears to run his hand across his neck in a menacing gesture directed at the team inside.
Israel’s national broadcaster, Kan, confirmed it has filed a criminal complaint with Swiss police and submitted a formal grievance to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), describing the act as a “targeted hate crime”.
The clip was also posted by Israel’s official government X account, with the caption: “Israel’s Eurovision representative Yuval Raphael, a Nova massacre survivor, was ‘welcomed’ in Basel by a hostile crowd… Yet she stands tall, singing for her country. Her love will always outshine their hate.”
Yuval Raphael. Credit: Shai Franco
Basel’s emergency services said police successfully prevented disruption to the parade by “stopping around 150 people at the Messeplatz”, noting the event proceeded “without any significant problems”.
The confrontation follows a security warning from Israel’s National Security Council advising citizens attending Eurovision in Switzerland to avoid wearing Jewish symbols, posting about IDF service, or revealing hotel details due to the risk of targeted harassment.
The Eurovision semi-finals begin on Tuesday, with Raphael scheduled to perform in Saturday’s grand final.
