If you think that music was the main criteria through which Israelis view the Eurovision, then think again.
Ahead of the second Eurovision semi-final last Thursday, Rina Matzliach, co-host of a popular morning radio show on the main Kan public broadcasting station, urged Israelis and Jews living in Europe to make sure they voted for Israel’s Yuval Raphael. “Not just because she’s one of our own,” she explained, “but to stick it to our enemies.”
It seemed to do the trick. After the jury vote in Saturday night’s final, Israel languished in 15th place, although there was rare praise for the Irish jury which awarded Israel seven points.
Israel, however, came top of the audience vote with 297 points, finishing second overall to Austria, in a nail-biting finish.
Yuval Raphael’s song New Day Will Rise was actually quite good, certainly compared to some of the more bizarre tunes on offer this year, and her rendition was flawless.
Israel had initially been one the bookies’ favourites for a top spot but dropped down the rankings ahead of the final.
For the second year in a row there was controversy over Israel’s participation, with some public broadcasters and protesters arguing for the country to be banned over its military action in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian protests took place on the streets of Basel although were smaller and less hostile than last year’s demonstrations in Malmo, Sweden. A man and a woman were prevented from invading the stage on Saturday during Israel’s performance in the final.
Raphael said she managed to block out the background noise. “The entire song was devoted to the people, to Israel, to my friends, people in my heart, people who are no longer with us, to the hostages who are still there. I was focused only on the song, on bringing honour to the country, on spreading love everywhere,” she said. “I think it worked.”
After 19 months of a bitter war in Gaza, everything connected with Israel seems to be related to the conflict. And with Yuval Raphael it couldn’t be more obvious.
She was at the Nova music festival, close to the Gaza border, when Hamas militants stormed across the border in the early hours of October 7th, 2023. Some 378 people were killed at the site but Raphael was one of the lucky ones, managing to flee, hiding in a nearby roadside bomb shelter.
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In a recording of a desperate phone call she made to her father, aired often on Israeli media, the father pleads with her “play dead, play dead”. Nearly 40 people were killed after Hamas gunmen threw grenades into the shelter and fired into the terrified crowd of revellers.
Raphael was one of 11 who made it out alive after following her father’s advice and lying without moving for eight hours beneath the bodies of those killed. Others amongst the 11 bomb shelter survivors were in the crowd at the Basel finals, cheering her on.
The head of the Israeli delegation at the Eurovision was asked how Raphael managed to stay focused when some members of the audience waved Palestinian flags and booed during the Israeli performance. “After what Yuval went through on October 7th, nothing fazes her,” he answered.
While overtly political messages are not allowed under Eurovision rules, the lyrics of New Day Will Rise are a clear reference to October 7th. “New day will rise/ Life will go on/ Everyone cries/ Don’t cry alone/Darkness will fade/All the pain will go by.”
Since October 7th Israel has been fighting a war on seven separate fronts. One commentator described the Eurovision as the country’s eighth front.
“For Israel, Operation Eurovision and Operation Gideon’s Chariots (the Gaza war) are two fronts of the same war. Like so many of her peers back home, Yuval Raphael was simply drafted for reserve duty,” wrote Anat Kam in the liberal Ha’aretz daily newspaper.
Raphael’s second-place showing was greeted in Israel as a major achievement in the face of adversity – from a near-death experience to conquering the world stage.
