Israel Presented Song for Eurovision Song Contest 2025

The 24-year-old Raphael survived the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, in the Israeli border area. In the ESC song "New Day Will Rise," overcoming painful experiences is the theme. Eighteen months ago, Raphael was celebrating with friends at a music festival near the Gaza Strip when an Islamist terrorist attack occurred. She survived by hiding for hours in a shelter under corpses. The terrorists killed 364 festival-goers and kidnapped dozens into the Gaza Strip.

Subtle References to the Incidents of October 7 in Song for Eurovision Song Contest 2025

In the ESC song, there are subtle references to the incidents 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. 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: "Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers sweep it away."

In the past ESC, critics had demanded that Israel be excluded due to the actions of the Israeli army in the Gaza war. The ESC organizers decided against such a step. The Israeli singer Eden Golan was then heavily criticized and booed during her ESC performance in Malmö, Sweden, in 2024. Nevertheless, she finished in fifth place. If only the television audience had voted, she would have come second. Jury votes are also included in the result.

(APA/Red)

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