October 7 Survivor Faces Hate and Threats at Eurovision
13th May 2025
Having survived the October 7th Hamas pogrom at the Nova music festival, Yuval Raphael is now representing her country, Israel, at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the song “New Day Will Rise.” For many of those who lined the streets upon her arrival in Basel on Sunday, Raphael’s was not a story to be celebrated but one that inspired hatred.
One man among the noisy Palestinian flag-wavers made a throat-slitting gesture and is said also to have spat at members of Israel’s delegation. Israeli broadcaster Kan has filed a complaint to the Swiss police as well as to Eurovision’s organiser, the European Broadcasting Union, “requesting that action be taken to identify the individual.”
But at the opening ceremony itself, Raphael and her team responded to this hatred with grace, blowing kisses and brandishing big smiles.