Israeli President Isaac Herzog hosted Noam Bettan, Israel’s runner-up representative at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Monday, praising him for bringing pride to the Jewish state amid international hostility.
Bettan was joined at the meeting by a delegation from the Israeli broadcaster Kan, led by CEO Golan Yochpaz. The event was conducted in Hebrew.
“The people of Israel love you very much, and when you ended your performance at Eurovision with ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’ you moved all of our hearts,” Herzog told Bettan. “You brought great joy and pride to the people of Israel, and stood courageously in the face of waves of hatred and hostility. You brought Israel’s name into almost every home in the world, and I commend you for that.”
Bettan finished second in Saturday night’s final in Vienna with “Michelle,” a trilingual ballad in English, French and Hebrew, behind Bulgaria’s DARA. Australia’s Delta Goodrem placed third. His performance drew strong public support despite anti-Israel protests, boycott calls and heckling inside the arena.
“It is a great honor for me to be at the President’s Residence today, to meet the president of the State of Israel and to receive this embrace and appreciation after this moving journey,” Bettan said. “Thank you to everyone who supported, voted and sent love throughout the entire journey. I felt the embrace of the people of Israel at every moment, and it gave me tremendous strength to step onto the stage and give it my all.”
In one of the more emotional moments of the meeting, Bettan said he was grateful to have served, even briefly, as a conduit for the love and unity he felt from the Israeli public.
“I am happy and proud of the privilege to be a channel for this,” he said, noting that the sense of unity reminded him of “difficult moments” the country had endured and made him feel, on a personal level, that “my soul was coming back home.”
He added, “I hope this unity will continue tomorrow, and a year from now, and 50 years from now, and into the distant future that awaits our country, God willing.”
Bettan also urged Israelis to carry that unity into daily life, including ordinary moments “in traffic jams, lines at the post office and the supermarket.”
“Precisely in those moments, to manage to be kinder to one another,” he said, adding that even when people fall short, they should try to judge one another favorably and “be better to one another and to our neighbors.”
Yochpaz said Bettan’s performance brought “the Israeli spirit and culture, in all their beauty and power, to the forefront of the world’s biggest stage.”
“There were many challenges that almost prevented us from being at Eurovision this year,” he said, crediting the work of Kan, Herzog and others who fought to ensure Israel’s participation. “We succeeded in taking the stage and sending such a talented representative who did the job brilliantly.”
Israel received 343 points overall, including 220 from the public vote, after a contest marked by boycotts from Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands over Israel’s participation. The result marked Israel’s second consecutive runner-up finish at Eurovision.
Asked about his next chapter, Bettan said he felt “100%” in his calling and planned to release new music and perform live.
“What brought me to this point was being who I am, being authentic and genuine,” he said. “That’s how the music will be too.”
