The Israeli Eurovision entrant, a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attack, has said she has been rehearsing her song with booing sounds in anticipation of backlash this weekend.
Yuval Raphael, who last attended a major music event on that fateful day in October 2023, told the BBC she is “expecting” boos, with many nations having criticized the Eurovision organizers for allowing an Israeli entrant amid what is currently taking place in Gaza.
“But we are here to sing and I’m going to sing my heart out for everyone,” she said in an interview this morning. Raphael said she had practiced on occasions with booing noises in the background in anticipation of the distractions. Asked if this upset her, she told the BBC she was remaining focused.
Raphael, a winner of Israel‘s HaKokhav HaBa (The Next Star) talent show, is singing a song titled “New Day Will Rise” at Eurovision. She has spoken openly in past months about how she hid under dead bodies inside a bomb shelter for eight hours at the Nova music festival, and when she performs she will still have shrapnel in her leg from the attack. Her interview came a day after American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander was freed by Hamas.
“It’s something I deal with every day,” she told the BBC. “It feels like a personal win, just to be having this experience and representing my country and doing it with such pride.”
But her being at Eurovision has been met with controversy. During the Eurovision opening parade in Basel on Sunday, the Israeli delegation made a complaint to the police and Eurovision organizer European Broadcasting Union (EBU) after accusing a pro-Palestinian demonstrator of making a throat-slitting gesture towards them, the BBC reported. Meanwhile, Irish pubcaster RTÉ has recently called for a discussion on Israel’s participation while dozens of ex-Eurovision performers signed an open letter urging organizers to ban Israel.
“We’re not immune to what’s going on in the world, and neither should we be,” Eurovision Director Martin Green told Deadline last week, as he discussed this year’s motto, “United by Music.”
Last year’s Israeli entry, titled “October Rain”, was also met with controversy and was eventually forced to alter its lyrics for being overly political. European Broadcasting Union rules dictate that political statements cannot be made in Eurovision songs.
The Eurovision semi-finals kick off tonight and the final takes place in Basel, Switzerland on Saturday. Last year’s winner was Swiss entry Nemo.
