Yuval Raphael , Israel's representative to the Eurovision song contest, arrived Monday at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of her departure along with the rest of her delegation for Basel, where the European Song Contest will be held next week (May 13-17).
"First of all, I'm incredibly excited," Raphael said before takeoff, "Thank you to everyone who gave me the opportunity to reach this position and I hope to bring you all the most respect possible and represent this country with the respect it deserves." She added that she hopes and wishes for all the hostages to return home soon.
"It's incredibly moving—we're representing a country during an extremely complex time, with a one-of-a-kind representative and an unbelievable story," Yoav Tzafir, head of the Israeli delegation, told Ynet. "It's hard to believe where she was a year and a half ago and where she is today. The song expresses exactly that. Now let's go and give it our best."
Raphael , 24, was chosen to represent Israel after winning the "Next Star for Eurovision" reality show. She survived the massacre at the Nova party on October 7 when she managed to hide among dead bodies and pretended to be dead.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
The Israeli representative will compete in the second semi-final on May 15 and will perform "New Day Will Rise," written and composed by Keren Peles, and produced and arranged by Tomer Biran. The song is performed in English, Hebrew and French; its lyrics are about hope for better days and it contains verses from the biblical Song of Songs.
The song went through the European Broadcasting Union'a vetting process and was approved without objections, unlike last year, but in Israel it caused a stir. Ynet revealed that more than 20 artists protested the process of selecting Peles' song, claiming a conflict of interest in its selection by the corporation's professional committee.
Some 10 countries qualify from each semi-final, with six more (the host and the five founding countries - France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Italy) joining them for the final in which 26 countries will compete.
According to betting agencies, Israel is currently ranked fifth, tied with the Netherlands in fourth place. The clear favorite right now is Sweden, which also won Eurovision two years ago, in which Noa Kirl participated and finished in third place.
Last year, Israel was represented by Eden Golan, who came in fifth place - and this year Golan herself will present the points Israel's panel of judges.