Yuval Raphael, a brave survivor of the tragic Nova Music Festival in Israel, where on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists from Gaza Strip inflicted a massacre, claiming hundreds of lives, leaving many injured, and capturing others, has been chosen to represent Israel at the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. This 24-year-old aspiring singer, devoid of any prior professional singing experience, emerged victorious in Season 11 of "Rising Star," Israel's beloved singing competition aired on Keshet 12, thus earning the prestigious honor of representing her nation on the global stage. Previous winners from the show include Netta, who triumphed at Eurovision in 2018 and brought the vibrant musical spectacle to Tel Aviv. In recent years, local pop stars Noa Kirel and Eden Golan secured third and fifth places, respectively.
On Wednesday night, local time, during the electrifying finale, Raphael enchanted the audience with her soulful rendition of ABBA's "Dancing Queen," a Swedish pop classic that catapulted the group to global fame after their Eurovision win in 1974, and a mesmerizing cover of Sam Smith's Academy Award-winning song "Writing's on The Wall" from the James Bond film "Spectre." Her vocal prowess was lauded by the show's esteemed judges, but it was her personal narrative that captured hearts early in the competition. She bravely shared her harrowing experience of surviving the Nova Music Festival massacre, recounting how she fled the scene and sought refuge in a public bomb shelter outside Kibbutz Be’eri. There, she crouched in the farthest corner of the cramped cement space, trapped beneath deceased bodies, feigning death for over eight harrowing hours until she was rescued by the father of another festival-goer who courageously drove to the area to save his daughter and others.
"Each time we [the survivors] dared to raise our heads, we couldn't comprehend why fewer people remained in the bomb shelter," she recalled in March 2024 while addressing the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice. "We feared the terrorists were carting away the corpses. Little did we realize it was the grenades tearing their bodies apart."
Fluent in English, French, and her native Hebrew, Raphael has been an active participant in Israel's international advocacy efforts over the past year. Since her November audition, where she belted out Demi Lovato's "Anyone," she has expressed her heartfelt desire for "the world to hear firsthand my harrowing tale and the daily struggles I endure, so no one can refute it." She further emphasized that "music serves as a beautiful medium to echo a message," and participating in Eurovision at this juncture felt predestined.
Now in its 69th edition, Eurovision is heralded as the world's most significant music event, drawing an audience of over 200 million viewers across 40 markets globally. Last year, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) firmly stood by its decision to include Israel amid political protests seeking to exclude the country due to the war in Gaza. This tension prompted stringent security measures throughout Malmö, the event's host city, while singer Eden Golan's performance of "Hurricane" was met with booing by some in the audience. In June of last year, the EBU reiterated its stance that Eurovision remains a non-political event, and its decision to allow Israel's participation aligns with that of other non-political organizations, such as sports federations.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 promises to be a musical spectacle, taking place this May in Basel, Switzerland.
