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Associated Press

Most contestants at the Eurovision Song Contest are seeking as much publicity as possible.
Israel’s Yuval Raphael is keeping a low profile.
The 24-year-old singer has done few media interviews or appearances during Eurovision week, as Israel’s participation in the pan-continental pop music competition draws protests for a second year.
Raphael performed Thursday in the second semi-final at the contest in the Swiss city of Basel, securing enough votes from viewers for a place in Saturday’s final with her anthemic song “New Day Will Rise”.

Oddsmakers make Raphael, a survivor of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on a music festival in southern Israel that started the Gaza war, one of the favourites to win the contest.
But some would prefer she was not here. A handful of protesters attempted to disrupt a rehearsal by Raphael on Thursday with “oversized flags and whistles”, contest organisers said. Videos on social media appeared to show a large Palestinian flag being extended in the crowd across several people.
Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, which was organising the event, said “security personnel were able to quickly identify those involved and escort them out of the hall”.
Raphael’s semi-final performance passed without disruption.
Israel has competed in Eurovision for more than 50 years and won four times. But last year’s event in Sweden drew large demonstrations calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The October 7 cross-border attacks by Hamas militants killed 1,200 people, and roughly 250 were taken hostage into Gaza. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to the territory’s health ministry.

About 200 people, many draped in Palestinian flags, protested in central Basel on Wednesday evening, demanding an end to Israel’s military offensive and the country’s expulsion from Eurovision. They marched in silence down a street noisy with music and Eurovision revelry.
Many noted that Russia was banned from Eurovision after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“It should be a happy occasion that Eurovision is finally in Switzerland, but it’s not,” said Lea Kobler, from Zurich. “How can we rightfully exclude Russia but we’re still welcoming Israel?”
Others have criticised hostility toward the Israeli contestant. Israel’s public broadcaster KAN complained to Swiss police about an alleged threatening gesture made toward Raphael by a pro-Palestinian protester during the opening Eurovision parade on Sunday.
German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer told parliament on Wednesday that “the boycott calls, the threats, also the verbal attacks on the singer from Israel, who herself only survived Hamas’ mass murder at the Nova music festival because she hid under corpses, are from my point of view an intolerable scandal”.
Last year, Israeli competitor Eden Golan received boos when she performed live at Eurovision. Raphael told the BBC that she expected the same and rehearsed with background noise so she would not be distracted.

“But we are here to sing and I’m going to sing my heart out for everyone,” she said.
A demonstration in support of Israel and against antisemitism was held in central Basel on Thursday.
Anti-Israel protests in Basel have been much smaller than last year in Malmo. Another pro-Palestinian demonstration was planned for Saturday in downtown Basel, not far from the contest venue, St Jakobshalle arena.
But concern by some Eurovision participants and broadcasters continues.
More than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter calling for Israel to be excluded. Several of the national broadcasters that fund Eurovision, including those of Spain, Ireland and Iceland, have called for a discussion about Israel’s participation.
Swiss singer Nemo, who brought the competition to Switzerland by winning last year, told HuffPost UK that “Israel’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision claims to uphold – peace, unity, and respect for human rights”.
At Wednesday’s protest, Basel resident Domenica Ott held a handmade sign saying “Nemo was right”.
She said the nonbinary singer was “very courageous”.
“If Russia couldn’t participate, why should Israel?” she said.
The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, pointed out that Israel was represented by broadcaster KAN, not the government. It has called on participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.


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Israel-Gaza war

Israel’s presence still roils Eurovision a year after major protests over war in Gaza

Singer Yuval Raphael. Israel has competed in Eurovision for more than 50 years and won four times. Photo: AFP

Israeli singer Yuval Raphael on Thursday. Photo: AFP 

Protesters with Palestinian flags in Basel, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

A pro-Israel demonstrator outside the St Jakobshalle arena. Photo: AFP

Dozens killed in overnight strikes on southern Gaza city, hospital says

An injured Palestinian child weeps over his brothers, who were killed in Israeli strikes, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Photo: Reuters

The site of an Israeli strike on a house in Khan Younis. Photo: Reuters

Bodies of Palestinians at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Photo: Reuters

Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli air strike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Photo: AP

Pope Leo appeals for global peace in first Sunday address

Pope Leo at the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica for his first Sunday blessing. Photo: AP

Faithful gather at the Vatican on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Pope Leo leads a prayer on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Faithful wave American flags. Photo: AP

What to see and do in Basel, 2025 Eurovision Song Contest host in Switzerland

A barge sailing on tht River Rhine with the towers housing the headquarters of Swiss pharma giant Roche and the cathedral (right) in Basel. Photo: AFP

Swiss city Basel (above) is hosting the 2025 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and is expecting tens of thousands of visitors. There’s a lot to see and do in a city long associated with industry. Photo: Shutterstock 

A barge nears Basel cathedral (right) with the towers housing the headquarters of pharmaceutical company Roche to the left. The Rhine is clean enough to swim in these days. Photo: AFP

The St Jakobshalle arena, an example of Brutalist architecture, will host the 2025 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest from May 10 to 17, 2025. Photo: AFP

The Roche Towers, two skyscrapers built between 2012 and 2022, house the offices of the pharmaceutical group Roche. Photo: Shutterstock

The Museum Tinguely, near the Roche Towers, is filled with giant sculptures. Photo: Shutterstock

Basel Cathedral (Basler Münster) with the Rhine River in the background. Photo: Shutterstock 

Switzerland wins Eurovision, as Israel-Gaza war casts shadow over contest

Switzerland’s Nemo celebrates after winning the grand final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Singer Eden Golan from Israel takes to the stage at the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, on Saturday. Photo: dpa

Pro-Palestinian protesters are removed by police outside Malmo Arena in Sweden on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukraine peace breakthrough unlikely as Putin declines to meet Zelensky in Turkey

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before their meeting in Ankara on Thursday.  Photo: EPA-EFE

Zelensky speaks to the media at Ankara airport in Turkey on Thursday. Photo: Agence France-Presse

US President Donald Trump on Air Force One, en route to Abu Dhabi, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Journalists gather outside the Turkish Presidency’s Dolmabahce working office in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

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World

Europe

Amid protests, Israel’s Eurovision entry, Yuval Raphael, advances to Saturday’s final


Amid protests, Israel’s Eurovision entry, Yuval Raphael, advances to Saturday’s final.


Israel’s presence still roils Eurovision a year after major protests over war in Gaza

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Amid protests, Israel’s Eurovision entry, Yuval Raphael, advances to Saturday’s final

Amid protests, Israel’s Eurovision entry, Yuval Raphael, advances to Saturday’s final