From the Liveblog of
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Israel’s Yuval Raphael comes 2nd at Eurovision 2025, as Austria wins
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Israel’s Yuval Raphael finishes in 2nd place at the Eurovision 2025 grand final, and first in the televote, as Austria takes the overall win at the annual song contest.
Israel came 14th out of the 26 finalists in the jury vote, but wins the public vote. Israel received 12 jury points — the highest possible — from only one country, Azerbaijan.
The 24-year-old from Ra’anana, a survivor of the October 7 Nova music festival massacre, completed her performance of the emotional ballad, “New Day Will Rise,” in front of the crowd in Basel, Switzerland, with the cry: “Thank you, Europe, Am Yisrael Chai.”
עם ישראל חי, יובל: צפו בהופעה המושלמת של יובל רפאל בגמר האירוויזיון pic.twitter.com/SftWXRoAxm
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 17, 2025
Israel awarded its 12 jury points to neighboring Greece, and 10 points to Germany.
According to Israeli reporters in Basel, security thwarted two separate attempts by protesters to rush the stage during Raphael’s performance. The incidents were not seen on the live TV broadcast, and the Israeli singer did not appear to be aware of them in real time.
Related interview: After surviving Nova, Israel’s Eurovision hopeful is ready to ‘give my dreams a chance’
The contest’s final result is announced as sirens sound across central Israel, after the launch of a missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen.
The Times of Israel Community.