Israel’s Eurovision entrant Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack at Nova Music Festival, had her performance go off relatively without a hitch on the broadcast for the contest’s semi-finals in Basel, Switzerland, Thursday night, shirking even her own expectations as she and many were preparing for loud boos as her country’s inclusion in Eurovision has drawn controversy amid the war in Gaza.
Raphael was one of 10 contestants from Thursday’s semi-final to punch their ticket to the finals, alongside Lithuania’s Katarsis, Armenia’s PARG, Denmark’s Sissal, Austria’s JJ, Luxembourg’s Laura Thorn, Finland’s Erika Vikman, Latvia’s Tautumeitas, Malta’s Miriana Conte and Greece’s Klavdia.
They will join Iceland’s Vaeb, Poland’s Justyna Steczkowska, Estonia’s Tommy Cash, Ukraine’s Ziferblat, Sweden’s KAJ, Portugal’s Napa, Norway’s Kyle Alessandro, San Marino’s Gabry Ponte, Albania’s Shkodra Elektronike,and Netherland’s Claude.
Eurovision’s finals will air on Saturday at noon PST on Peacock.
Israel’s presence at the contest has been a controversial subject at the past two Eurovision Song Contests amid the war in Gaza, as over 70 former contestants signed an open letter last week calling for Israel to be banned from the event citing “genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people.”
The broadcast itself showed little beyond the performance and cheers, some photos and videos online show some attendees in the audience holding up Palestinian flags. Israel’s Eurovision presence drew protests ahead of the semi-finals as well.
Critics have argued that Israel should be banned from the contest, as Russia was back in 2022 over its invasion of Ukraine. While the broadcast didn’t show protests, some images online from Thursday’s rehearsals showed attendees in the audience waving Palestinian flags while Raphael performed.
Raphael has spoken publicly about her experience at Nova, telling the UN Human Rights Council last year that she fled to a bomb shelter the day of the attack, hiding under dead bodies while she herself pretended to be dead for hours until her father and another Nova attendee saved her.
“Every time we [those who were still alive] raised our heads, we couldn’t understand why there were less and less people in the bomb shelter,” she told the UN. “We thought the terrorists were taking the dead bodies. We didn’t realize it was because of the grenades, blowing up their bodies.”
Last year’s Israel entrant Eden Golan was booed during her Eurovision performance, and Raphael told the BBC earlier this week that she’d practiced with boos and noises in the background preparing for Thursday. “I think I’m expecting it, but we are here to sing and I’m going to sing my heart out for everyone,” Raphael said.
Outside of Thursday’s semi-final, Celine Dion made a surprise video appearance on Tuesday during the first semi-final, 37 years after she won Eurovision in 1988.
“Music unites us, not only this evening, not only at the moment,” Dion said in French. “Wonderful. It is our strength, our support and our support in the moments where we need it. I love you all, Europe and the rest of the world, of course. Kisses, I love you.”
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