Maybe people were simply voting for the song and the performance, not expressing any deeper political sentiment. Either way, we have reason to feel proud.
This is the third year in a row that popular votes for Israel vastly outstripped the number of votes it received from the national juries.
It was an exciting night, as we got to witness a star – Nova survivor Yuval Raphael – being born.
Israel's Eurovision contestant Yuval Raphael took second place at the Eurovision finale on Saturday night.
Speaking in Hebrew, Gadot told Raphael: “Celebrate your creation, it’s a creation of love and of so much light.”
The photo of Raphael on Friday was snapped in the same location where Herzl posed in 1901 when he was attending the fifth Zionist Congress.
Raphael recounted spotting her fellow Nova music festival survivors in the audience, cheering her along.
Raphael sang “New Day Will Rise,” a song by Keren Peles that references the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.
Documentary about Eden Golan competing in the contest in Sweden last year.
Raphael, who looked lovely in a flirty light-colored minidress, carried an Israeli flag past demonstrators screaming pro-Palestine slogans.
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