Sorry to Disappoint, But It Turns Out Europe Isn’t Convinced We’re Committing Genocide

In the weeks leading up to the 2025 Eurovision final in Basel, the mood in Israel was somber. The protests across Europe, the calls to boycott Israel, the political criticism, and the looming threat of anti Israel acts on stage all felt like a tidal wave of hostility we could not withstand. Social media was already celebrating Israel’s inevitable failure, and even here at home, people questioned whether we should participate at all.

I will admit it I was also pessimistic about Yuval Rafael’s chances in this competition though for different reasons. I believed that our selection, as Israelis, of Yuval Rafael reflected more emotion than strategic awareness of what actually resonates with Europe. Maybe her story moved us deeply here in Israel, but I doubted it would mean much to European audiences. I was convinced the strategically better choice was Valeri Hamati the ultimate Eurovision package a professional singer, camera friendly beauty, and most importantly both Arab and Israeli.

But then, on Saturday night, Yuval Rafael a soft spoken yet powerful survivor of the massacre took the stage and sang about hope. Not hate. Not politics. Not advocacy. She did not speak about the outside world she spoke from within. About pain, dreams, and revival.

And the European audience supposedly hostile, suspicious, maybe even biased fell in love.

297 points from the public 13 douze points 12 from the public, only one from the juries The UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Luxembourg all gave Israel their top score Except for Croatia, every voting country awarded Israel significant public support

That is a moment worth pausing on. Because as moving and impressive as her performance was, it alone does not explain the massive gap between the jury votes 60 points, 15th place and the public votes 1st place What the European audience essentially said was We see you. We understand you. We are not buying everything they are trying to sell us about you.

Yes, there is a message here. Not a political one a human one Even under an unprecedented propaganda assault, even when genocide is shouted from every campus and media outlet millions across Europe are saying We are not convinced. We are not blind Politicians may hate. Juries may ignore But the human heart is harder to fool with propaganda The European public, it turns out, can tell when someone is standing on stage asking for life not revenge They can still recognize truth

And in that moment, when Yuval finishes singing, lifts her eyes to the audience and calls out Am Yisrael Chai it is not just a slogan. It is not another line from a patriotic speech. It is a cry from an entire generation. It is a response to those who believe they can erase our story. And it is a message to every Jew in Europe You are not alone

Eurovision may be a song contest but this year it became a moral test. Not for countries, but for people. For viewers. For hearts And the heart of the average person, it seems, has not yet been fully clouded by the smoke of propaganda. It still knows truth when it hears it. It still sheds a tear when a song speaks the language of emotion

So yes sorry to disappoint all those who hoped Eurovision would prove that the whole world is against us Sorry to let down those who built entire theories on boycotts, hatred, and the complete loss of support The facts just do not back that up

The public chose

The public listened

The public felt

And the public defying every forecast lifted our flag of hope high, with 297 points echoing louder than any protest

Am Yisrael Chai

And we sing

And we move millions, even in the heart of Europe

Deal with it.