“Am Yisrael Chai”: Israel Shocks Europe - Comes Second in Eurovision

A remarkable achievement for Yuval Rafael, a survivor of the Nova massacre, who moved all of Europe in Basel and finished first in the public vote while 'JJ', the Austrian representative, won the Eurovision.

Rafael, who only began singing professionally a few months ago, performed "New Day Will Rise", a song written and composed by Keren Peles. She sang fourth in the evening, a slot considered disadvantageous for being too early. Nevertheless, her powerful performance moved the audience and received loud applause (though a lower score from the jury).

The evening was accompanied by vocal protests against Israel’s participation, including a heated demonstration in central Basel where protesters burned Israeli and American flags, as well as on-screen messages, captions, and comments by various European broadcasters highlighting Palestinian casualties in Gaza.

The most dramatic incident occurred in the arena itself when two individuals reportedly attempted to storm the stage during Yuval’s performance. In contrast, Israel’s points presenter, former representative Eden Golan, appeared on air dressed in a way symbolizing the Israeli hostages - an attempt to bypass the European Broadcasting Union’s ban on such displays.

Yuval Rafael spoke to Kan 11 broadcast saying: “Am Yisrael, I love you more than anything in the world. Am Yisrael Chai”.

The Israeli delagation finished second overall in Eurovision with a total of 357 points, with only 60 from the jury, and 297 from the public vote.

In the public vote rankings, behind Israel came Estonia, Sweden, the winning Austria, and Albania.