The survivor of the Hamas massacre: Yuval Raphael represents Israel at the ESC 2025!

The survivor of the Hamas massacre: Yuval Raphael represents Israel at the ESC 2025!

Kibbutz Re'im, Israel - Yuval Raphael, a 24-year-old survivor of the devastating Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, will be represented in Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Switzerland. The competition will take place in May 2025 and Raphael will compete with her song "New Day Will Rise". This song addresses the overcoming of painful experiences and arose against the background of her traumatic experiences during the Nova music festival, where 364 festival participants were killed and dozens were kidnapped. Raphael survived by hiding with four friends in a shelter and had to hide for up to eight hours under the corpses of victims while the attackers attacked the shelter. Her appearance is presented musically in different languages: English, French and Hebrew. The poetry also contains quotes from the biblical song.

"New Day Will Rise" symbolizes hope and the pursuit of a fresh start. The text reflects the message that life continues despite all the adversity. This topic is particularly central to Raphael, which emphasizes that music is an important part of the healing process for them. In the past, she has publicly shared her experiences, among other things as part of the UN Human Rights Council, to draw attention to the suffering and resilience of those affected. Raphael sees her appearance as a possibility of spreading the stories of the other survivors, not to arouse pity, but to express strength and perseverance.

controversy and challenges

Despite her personal history and the power of her music, Raphael is not free of controversy. At the last ESC there were demands to exclude Israel from the competition, which was rejected by the organizers of the event. They emphasized that the ESC is a non-political event. The past participation of the Israeli singer Eden Golan was also accompanied by protests that influenced the title of her song due to political associations. However, despite the criticism, Golan was able to achieve fifth place.

yuval Raphael fought for its place in the competition. She had her first public appearance with performances by "The Writings On The Wall" and Abba’s "Dancing Queen", devoting them to the sacrifices of the massacre. It is not only a competition, but also a platform for Raphael, her voice and the voices of many others.

On March 9, 2025, Israel officially presented the song and thus confirmed the great emotional and cultural value that the ESC has for the country and for the survivors of the attack. With "New Day Will Rise" Raphael brings a message of hope and survival on the big stage of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Further information on the candidacy and the background can be found on tz.de , foxnews.com and nn.de .