Israel chooses "New Day Will Rise" as its Eurovision entry 

Israeli public broadcaster Kan announced on Monday that the country’s Eurovision entry will be “New Day Will Rise,” a ballad written by Keren Peles, the same songwriter behind last year’s fifth-place entry, “Hurricane.”

The song, to be performed by Yuval Raphael at the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland this May, will officially be released on March 9. It reportedly includes lyrics in English, French, and Hebrew, along with verses from the Song of Songs, the biblical poem. The track was musically arranged and produced by Tomer Biran.

Kan’s decision has sparked controversy, as a group of songwriters accused the broadcaster of favoritism, pointing out that Peles not only had her song chosen two years in a row but also served as a judge on the Israeli singing competition that selected Raphael.

Kan dismissed the allegations, stating that the song selection process was conducted blindly and was unanimously approved by both the Israeli Eurovision selection committee and the European Broadcasting Union.

Raphael, who won the Israeli talent competition HaKokhav HaBa ("Rising Star") in January, will perform in the second half of the second semi-final on May 15, which will be broadcast across Kan’s platforms.

The 24-year-old singer is a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre. She recounted that she survived by hiding among the dead inside a roadside bomb shelter for eight hours until the IDF arrived. Out of the 50 people in the shelter, she was one of only 12 to emerge alive.