Song Contest 2025

Survivor of the Nova massacre sings for Israel

Her song contains subtle allusions to the events of October 7, 2023.(Bild: Ronen Zvulun / REUTERS / picturedesk.com)

Israel has presented the song with which candidate Yuval Raphael will compete at the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland in May. The 24-year-old Raphael is a survivor of the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023 in the Israeli border region. The song "New Day Will Rise" is about overcoming painful experiences.

Raphael had been partying with friends at the Nova music festival on the edge of the Gaza Strip a year and a half ago when the Islamist terror attack occurred. She survived by hiding in a shelter for hours among the corpses of other young people. The terrorists killed 364 participants at the festival and abducted dozens from the party to the Gaza Strip.

Subtle allusions to the events of October 7
The ESC song contains subtle allusions to the events of October 7, 2023.

The video shows young people walking through a green landscape. Red anemones can be seen in it - the flower symbolizes the Israeli south.

English, French and Hebrew
Raphael, who lived in Switzerland as a child, sings in English, French and Hebrew. "A new day will dawn, life will go on," the song says. And in a quote from the biblical Song of Songs: "Mighty waters cannot quench love, neither can rivers wash it away."

At the last ESC, critics had called for Israel to be excluded due to the actions of the Israeli army in the Gaza war. The ESC organizers decided against such a step.

Eden Golan met with hostility in Malmö
As a result, Israeli singer Eden Golan was met with some fierce hostility and booing during her ESC performance in Malmö, Sweden, in 2024. She nevertheless came fifth. If only the TV audience had voted, she would have come second. The result also includes jury votes.