Yuval Raphael, a 24-year-old from the immigrant-filled city of Ra’anana, will represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 after winning the Hakochav Haba (Rising Star) reality contest on Channel 12.
Her journey from survivor to performer is a remarkable story of resilience and hope. On October 7, 2023, Raphael was among the survivors of the Hamas terrorist attack at the Supernova music festival.
It was an open-air trance music festival on Simchat Torah in the western Negev, with the theme “Friends, love, and infinite freedom.”
That, unfortunately, was not the experience of the attendees who, on that fateful Saturday, did not celebrate in euphoria and joy; rather, they were sexually assaulted, massacred, and taken hostage by Hamas.
Raphael’s survival was nothing short of miraculous. Trapped in a roadside bomb shelter with over 40 other festivalgoers, she survived by hiding under piles of dead bodies for eight hours.
As successive groups of terrorists entered the shelter to ensure everyone was dead, Raphael remained motionless. Of the original group, only 11 emerged alive, and she still carries physical reminders of that day - shrapnel embedded in her head and leg.
Throughout the Rising Star competition, Raphael demonstrated her musical talent and emotional depth. Her performances included renditions of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” (which she dedicated to “all the angels” murdered at the festival), Bruno Mars’s “Talking to the Moon,” Demi Lovato’s “Anyone” and “Warrior,” and Sam Smith’s “Writing’s On The Wall.”
Raphael’s musical journey began after the October 7 attacks, transforming her trauma into artistic expression. She sees music as a crucial part of her healing process, and that, in itself, is the closing of one horrific circle.
She went from being caged at a music festival about freedom to being set free through music – and widely celebrated for it.
Since the attacks, she has been an international advocate, speaking at significant platforms, including the UN Human Rights Council in April 2024. She shared her harrowing experience of survival, recounting how hiding under the bodies of those murdered was her only path to survival.
Raphael is clear about her mission; she told Yediot Aharonot that she wishes to represent Israel “from a position of strength and pride.”
This is exactly the type of person Israel needs to represent us on an international stage.
Our other finalist heroes
Her finalist competitors would have represented Israel beautifully, too: Valerie Hamaty, a Christian Arab from Jaffa; Moran Aharoni and Red Band; and Daniel Wais, a singer-songwriter from Kibbutz Be’eri who lost both parents on October 7.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place in Basel, Switzerland, in May. Until then, Raphael’s specific song will be selected by a committee convened by the public broadcaster KAN and revealed in March.
On that stage, she will not be one woman; she will be the entire Nova music festival, as though it were stuck on her like a tattoo.
This does not mean the nation should pressure her or push her. After all, she is a survivor of this horrific massacre and must be dealing with immense trauma.
But reflecting outwards, imagine what it says to the world: she hid under dead bodies – experiencing the unthinkable – and here she is, strong as ever, rising like a phoenix.
She is one of the many Israeli heroes of our time dancing with the demons in their minds, and we should stand behind her to give her strength and hold her now.
Last year’s Israeli representative, Eden Golan, faced significant challenges, including strict security measures and widespread protests. While similar controversies are expected this year, the European Broadcasting Union has confirmed Israel’s participation.
Raphael, too, will face backlash, to be sure. Eurovision has a large anti-Israel audience, but she is not their toy.
Like the incredible women who came before her (Neta Barzilai, Noa Kirel, and so on.), she will deal with just a little bit of the punches headed her way, her head still held high.
Hallelujah, Yuval, you are not only a diva, but someone who will make us proud, and represent Israel in the finest way.