Israel's Eurovision contestant Yuval Raphael will take to the stage during Saturday's grand final in Basel, Switzerland, to perform her pop ballad New Day Will Rise amid ongoing controversy over her country's participation in the competition.
The 24-year-old singer, who survived the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on the Nova music festival near Israel's border with Gaza, qualified during Thursday's semi-final despite protests surrounding Israel's involvement in the contest.
Raphael was one of only 11 people to survive from a shelter where approximately 50 people had taken refuge during the attack that claimed 378 lives at the festival.
Raphael survived the attack by hiding under the bodies of others in a small shelter near the dance floor. Hamas fighters found the shelter, entered, and repeatedly fired at those inside.
Yuval Raphael performed in the Eurovision semi-final on ThursdayGETTY
"Only I and 10 others were saved from our four square meter shelter," she later told the United Nations Human Rights Council, "a shelter that had become the tomb for almost 40 souls seeking refuge with us."
Raphael's Eurovision journey has been marred by protests over Israel's participation amid the ongoing Gaza conflict. During a dress rehearsal on Thursday, six protesters disrupted her performance with whistles and "oversized" Palestinian flags before being ejected from the St Jakobshalle arena.
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Yuval Raphael, who is a survivor of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, has been met by protestors in Switzerland
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The Israeli delegation has prepared Raphael for potential hostility during Saturday's final. Yoav Tzafir, the delegation's director, revealed he had recorded booing sounds which Raphael played in her car while practicing.
This approach mirrors last year's experience when Israel's contestant Eden Golan faced similar hostility but still placed fifth in the competition.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises Eurovision, has faced pressure from several national broadcasters regarding Israel's participation. Ireland's public broadcaster RTÉ, along with counterparts from Spain, Slovenia and Belgium, approached the EBU demanding a discussion about Israel's inclusion.
Eurovision director Martin Green responded that no broadcaster had "publicly opposed" Israel's participation, insisting that members should ensure the event remained a "universal event that promotes connections, diversity and inclusion through music".
Critics have drawn comparisons to Russia's suspension from Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Raphael has acknowledged the weight of representing Israel under such circumstances but remains focused on her performance.
"I think I'm expecting it," she told the BBC regarding potential booing, "but we're here to sing and I'm going to sing my heart out to everyone."
She added: "It feels like a personal win, just to be having this experience and representing my country and doing it with such pride."
Eurovision 2025: Israel's entry Yuval Raphael has faced plenty of backlash to her participation GETTYDespite Israeli fans being warned by their country's National Security Council not to wear Jewish or Israeli symbols at Eurovision, Raphael remains determined.
"I really think I have a lot of weight on my shoulders, I have a very big responsibility. I have a lot of people at home that are expecting something," she said.
Following her qualification for the final, Raphael paid tribute to Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, by recreating his iconic 1901 photograph overlooking the Rhine in Basel.
The photo was taken in the same location where Herzl posed during the fifth Zionist Congress, with Israel's public broadcaster KAN releasing it alongside Herzl's famous quote: "If you will it, it is no dream."
Despite the controversy, Raphael currently ranks sixth in betting odds for Saturday's final, where she will compete against 24 other performers.
A giant poster of Raphael also appeared in Times Square, New York on Wednesday, urging global viewers to vote for her in the competition that will be broadcast to hundreds of millions worldwide.
