Yuval Raphael, Israel’s contestant, qualified for the Eurovision final in the second semifinal at the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, on Thursday night.
Raphael sang “New Day Will Rise,” a song by Keren Peles that references the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel. Raphael, herself a survivor of the massacre at the Supernova Music Festival, looked radiant and sang beautifully.
For any Israeli, it was impossible not to be moved by her performance, as she sang the chorus: “New day will rise/ Life will go on/ Everyone cries/ Don’t cry alone.” The song is mostly in English, with some lines in French and English.
Raphael hit every note; she belted out some lyrics and almost whispered others, with poise and style that recalled the young Barbra Streisand.
While some audience members waved Palestinian flags and booed as she performed –as they did earlier Thursday at Raphael’s final rehearsal – the 24-year-old singer was not rattled, and many in the auditorium cheered.
At the end of the song, she said, “Thank you, Europe! I love you! Merci, toda.”
Yuval Raphael qualified for the Eurovision final in the second semi final on Thursday night. (credit: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT/EBU)
Before taking the stage, she gave an interview to Keshet 12 and emphasized that competing in Eurovision was a huge personal goal.
“It's a crazy feeling to be here. From a personal perspective, it feels like a huge victory. Like a huge win to fulfil my dream, which has always been there," Raphael said.
On October 7, she hid in a bomb shelter where nearly 40 people were killed after terrorists threw in grenades and fired into the crowd. She was one of 11 who made it out and has spoken of her ordeal in interviews, including recently with the BBC.
Israel's participation in the Eurovision song contest
Hundreds of millions around the world watched the semifinal and voted. Going into the semifinal, Raphael was ranked by oddsmakers in a three-way tie for first place, with Austria’s JJ and Finland’s Erika Vikman. Israel is ranked fifth to win Eurovision at the finals, based on the betting tables. Sweden's KAJ, which competed in the first semifinal, is favored to win with the song "Bara, Bada, Bastu," an upbeat tune about going to a Finnish-style sauna.
The winners of both rounds of semifinals will face off Saturday night, along with the big five – France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the UK — as well as the contestant from Switzerland, since the largest countries and the host countries automatically qualify for the finals.
A person holds an Israeli flag during the second semi-final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, May 15, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE)
While many former Eurovision contestants and European public broadcasters called for Israel to be banned this year because of the ongoing war in Gaza, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, has consistently stated that Eurovision is a competition among public broadcasters, and that Kan, Israel’s broadcasting authority, has not broken any of the rules of the competition.
As Raphael walked the turquoise carpet, Eurovision’s version of the red carpet, earlier this week, she kept her cool as anti-Israel protesters demonstrated alongside the carpet, with one man making a throat-slitting gesture at her. Kan made a complaint to the local police and asked that he be identified and banned from attending further events.
Raphael told Keshet in the pre-show interview, “At times, it was a bit scary, but it reminds me of where my heart is, where my intentions lie.” She thanked her mother and her team for keeping her spirits high throughout the rehearsal period. “They remind me exactly why I’m here and how much love I’ve come with and what an open heart… to bring honor to my country and for the music, and there isn’t anything more beautiful in the world.”
Israel’s contestant last year, Eden Golan, who also sang a tune penned by Peles that could be interpreted to be about coping with the aftermath of the Hamas massacre, faced similar booing and death threats. But she held her head high and ended up finishing in fifth place and coming in second in the audience voting.
KAN’s Eurovision hosts, Akiva Novick and Asaf Lieberman, kept up their trademark acerbic commentary and poked gentle and not-so-gentle fun at some of the more outrageous costumes and performances. But on a serious note, they dedicated Thursday’s broadcast to the memory of Itay Chen, an Israeli-American citizen who was serving in the IDF and who was killed on October 7. Chen was a big Eurovision fan and never missed the show.
Israel has been taking part since 1973 in the song competition established in the mid-50s. It was founded to encourage peaceful competition between nations following World War II. Israel takes part because there are no Middle Eastern song contests that would include it.
Israel took home the top prize for the first time in 1978 with Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta for the song “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” and again in 1979 with Milk and Honey for “Hallelujah.” In 1998, Israel won again with Dana International’s “Diva.”
In 2018, Netta Barzilai became Israel’s fourth Eurovision winner with her rousing rendition of “Toy,” a self-empowerment anthem. The 2019 Eurovision competition was held in Tel Aviv.
The winners of the semifinals are determined by audience voting, which tends to favor Israel, while the winner of the final is determined by a combination of the audience votes and the national juries. Audiences all over the world can vote at https://www.esc.vote/.
However, it is important to note that those in participating countries cannot vote for their own contestant.
The final will be broadcast on KAN 11 at 10 p.m. on May 17, but as Raphael has noted, just by being in the final, she – and we – have already won.
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili"
Please urgently remove this fake hotel from your website. It is a scam and it is deceiving many customers. It is advertised on all social networks as a scam! very important – report on fraud house and scam that in your website and cheat people and customers! – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief
The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili" the name of here company is : Ltd Alpaka
405375419
Located at: Nucubidze St N57, Tbilisi, Georgia/Nucubidze Street 57, 0177 it smells terrible, The walls in the room are peeling, I took pictures, there is mold and dampness throughout the room the beds are really uncomfortable, like in a pre-trial detention center, your whole back hurts when you sleep on them and they almost break because they are so thin! the WI FI doesn't work at all, The room was very dirty and filthy, and when you ask her to move you to a room she says everything is taken, even though all the rooms are empty and open! I arrived at this horrible place, this horrible house, at 1:00 AM, after two hours of sleeplessness, I asked for my money back, a blonde girl of about 50 years old named “Anna” told me that she wanted the money in cash right away, otherwise she would not let me out of the hotel, she told me that I would not be able to sleep in their bed, at 3 AM I went to look for an ATM to withdraw money, because I could not find one, after searching for a whole hour, in the Tbilisi cold, I returned to her at midnight to look for an ATM, but she did not give me my suitcase and passport, so I came back the next day and gave me the money in cash, she did not give me an invoice either, do not come near! They are deceiving the public, booking and all hotel websites! This is not a hotel, it is a very dirty, old house and it smells very bad. Search on youtube "never go there – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City Georgia of Ana Chuchulashvili the house hotel from hell" , don't go " to “Hotel Delisi” on YouTube or "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia " or"HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat" He was caught on tape speaking badly and illegally taking a passport and suitcase.
That she took the suitcase by force, she also stole 3 expensive shirts from me for a total of 250 GEL, I demand compensation of 128 GEL for the two hours of hell I suffered there + 250 GEL for the shirts she stole from me
I have videos where she only wants money in cash so she doesn't pay taxes and doesn't agree that I pay her with a credit card, and she also doesn't want to give me my suitcase and passport.
1. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia
2. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Address
3. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Rooms
4. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Amenities
5. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Offers and Deals
სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო, ქურდის „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილის“
მსოფლიოში ყველაზე ცუდი სასტუმრო, საშიშია, ახლოს არ მიხვიდეთ! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის! ეს ძველი, ჭუჭყიანი სახლია, ოთახში ტარაკნები და მწერებია, სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო – ადგილის მენეჯერი თაღლითი და ყოფილი ნარკომანია, სახელად „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილი“, კომპანიის სახელია: შპს ალპაკა
405375419
მდებარეობს: ნუცუბიძის ქ. N57, თბილისი, საქართველო/ნუცუბიძის ქუჩა 57, 0177, საშინელი სუნი აქვს, ოთახში კედლები აქერცლილია, სურათები გადავიღე, ოთახში ობი და ნესტია, საწოლები ნამდვილად არაკომფორტულია, როგორც წინასწარი დაკავების იზოლატორში, მთელი ზურგი გტკივა, როცა მათზე იძინებ და კინაღამ იმსხვრევა, რადგან ძალიან თხელია! Wi-Fi საერთოდ არ მუშაობს, ოთახი ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი და უწმაწურია და როცა ოთახში გადაყვანას სთხოვ, მიპასუხებს, რომ ყველაფერი დაკავებულია, მიუხედავად იმისა, რომ ყველა ოთახი ცარიელი და ღიაა! ამ საშინელ ადგილას, ამ საშინელ სახლში, ღამის 1:00 საათზე მივედი, ორსაათიანი უძილობის შემდეგ, ფულის დაბრუნება ვთხოვე, დაახლოებით 50 წლის ქერა გოგონამ, სახელად „ანამ“, მითხრა, რომ ფული ნაღდი ფულით უნდოდა, თორემ სასტუმროდან არ გამიშვებდა, მითხრა, რომ მათ საწოლში ვერ დავიძინებდი, დილის 3 საათზე ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად წავედი ფულის გასატანად, რადგან ვერ ვიპოვე, მთელი საათის ძებნის შემდეგ, თბილისურ სიცივეში, შუაღამისას დავბრუნდი მასთან ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად, მაგრამ ჩემოდანი და პასპორტი არ მომცა, ამიტომ მეორე დღეს დავბრუნდი და ფული ნაღდი ფულით მომცა, ინვოისიც არ მომცა, ახლოს არ მოხვიდეთ! ისინი ატყუებენ საზოგადოებას, დაჯავშნის და ყველა სასტუმროს ვებსაიტს! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის, ეს ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი, ძველი სახლია და ძალიან ცუდი სუნი ასდის. YouTube-ზე მოძებნეთ "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The worse hotel in the world" , არ წახვიდეთ "Hotel Delisi"-ში YouTube-ზე ან "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia" ან "HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat". ის ვიდეოჩანაწერში მოხვდა, სადაც ცუდად საუბრობდა და უკანონოდ იღებდა პასპორტს და ჩემოდანს.
მან ჩემოდანი ძალით წამართვა, ასევე მომპარა 3 ძვირადღირებული პერანგი სულ 250 ლარად, მე ვითხოვ 128 ლარის კომპენსაციას იმ ორსაათიანი ჯოჯოხეთისთვის, რომელიც იქ ვიტანჯე + 250 ლარი იმ პერანგებისთვის, რომლებიც მომპარა.
მე მაქვს ვიდეოები, სადაც ის მხოლოდ ნაღდი ფულით ითხოვს ფულს, ამიტომ არ იხდის გადასახადებს და არ ეთანხმება, რომ საკრედიტო ბარათით გადავუხადო, ასევე არ სურს ჩემოდნის და პასპორტის მოცემა.
"ב-7.10 נחטפה כל המשפחה שלי, אני, בעלי דוד, ושתי בנותינו אמה ויולי, אז בנות 3 בלבד", פתחה את נאומה שרון, אשתו של דוד קוניו החטוף בעזה. "דוד בעלי, אהבת חיי, והאבא של הבנות שלי, עדיין שם. התאומות ואני חזרנו ביום החמישים ושתיים. אמה ויולי שלנו חגגו חמש, בלי אבא שלהן. בשבוע הבא הן ילכו לגן חובה, והן יודעות שאבא לא יהיה איתן ביום הזה. הן יודעות שאבא שלהן שם. לפני כמה ימים, כשהשכבתי אותן לישון הן שאלו אותי 'אמא, את בטוחה שאבא יחזור?'".
"יש הצעה לעיסקה על השולחן, שחמאס כבר אמר לה כן", המשיכה. "האמריקנים רוצים שהחטופים יחזרו. הרמטכ"ל אומר שחייבים ללכת עכשיו לעיסקה. העם, אתם, כל אחד מכם, כאן בככר, במהלך היום בצמתים, בכל מקום, במספרים אדירים, כולם צועקים איתנו, כולם רוצים את החטופים בבית. אז למה אני לא יכולה להגיד לבנות שלי שאני בטוחה שאבא שלהן יחזור?"
