Israeli singer Yuval Raphael came in second place in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 Grand Final in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday night, after being pipped at the post by Austrian singer JJ.
Although Raphael convincingly won the popular vote among audiences across Europe, earning 297 points, she came in a disappointing 14th in the jury vote, with only Azerbaijan giving her the maximum 12 points.
After winning the public vote, Raphael scored 357 points for Israel in a nail-biting finish, behind Austria with 436 points and just ahead of Estonia with 356.
“I’ve never felt so victorious in my life,” said Raphael, draped in an Israeli flag. She pointedly declared, “Am Yisrael Chai!” (The people of Israel live!) at the end of the performance of her hopeful ballad, “New Day Will Rise,” written and composed by singer-songwriter Keren Peles.
Raphael, 24, who survived the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival, took the stage under heightened political tension, with boos from some in the audience protesting Israel’s participation as well as pro-Palestinian protests outside.
A Eurovision crew member was splattered with paint after two protesters tried to rush on stage to disrupt Raphael’s performance. A spokesperson for the Swiss broadcaster of the event said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage. They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”
Still, Raphael’s exceptional performance received widespread praise from commentators and warm applause in the St. Jakobshalle arena.
After hearing the results, an emotional Raphael said in an interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, “I feel like we’ve won in life. I don’t know how to explain it. I’ll be grateful to our nation every day of my life.”
In response to a question about how she felt coming second to Austria’s JJ (Johannes Pietsch), who sang an operatic ballad titled “Wasted Love,” she was generous in her praise for him, saying, “He deserves it.”
Stressing that what she looked forward to most was returning home to Israel, her family and friends, the Ra’anana resident told Kan, “We’re going to celebrate—and we’re going to breathe!”
A year and a half ago, Yuval Raphael was nearly murdered. She miraculously survived the terrible Nova festival massacre.
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) May 17, 2025
Now, she came in second place at the Eurovision contest.
Yuval - you are amazing!
Am Yisrael Chai! 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/24rdsT7ruX
Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with Raphael on Sunday and congratulated her. “Dear and amazing Yuval, how wonderful. You truly succeeded. First of all, your performance was tremendous. It was perfect—exceptional. I was so moved,” Herzog said.
“You are truly a daughter of Israel for all of us, breaking through the highest ceiling in the world—it’s simply incredible. Just think where you were 590 days ago.”
He added, “Your cry of ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ touched our hearts. Thank you for representing the State of Israel with such honor.”
Raphael responded: “It was the greatest honor in the world to be the voice of this country. It was the greatest honor and the greatest privilege in the world. And I will always remember that I was given this voice and that I was given the chance to be the voice of this people.”
She concluded by thanking Herzog and all her fans. “I want to thank you for the support you gave me—it strengthened me so much. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until everyone is home: Our only and greatest victory is when all the hostages return home.”
Later, at a press conference at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday night, upon her return to Israel, Raphael echoed this message, telling Israelis, “I hope I gave you a lot of pride because that’s what I wanted. I feel a giant victory—giant, giant, giant—but there won’t be a real victory until all our hostages are home. So amen, amen, amen. They will return soon. Thank you!”
