In the heart of Tel Aviv, under a relentless downpour, Yuval Raphael stands with an air of unassuming grace. Dressed casually in sneakers and a loose sweater, her natural, makeup-free appearance blends seamlessly with the city’s vibrant crowd.

Yet, as she greets me with a warm smile, her inner resilience is undeniable. It’s hard to fathom that just two years ago, she survived a harrowing ordeal, lying still among lifeless bodies, pretending to be dead to stay alive.

Raphael soon captured international attention as the courageous singer who braved one of the world’s most intimidating stages. With Mossad agents ensuring her safety, she poured her soul into her performance at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Despite facing intense threats, vocal protests, and a chorus of boos, she achieved an impressive second-place finish. Only now is she breaking her silence about the ordeal, revealing the subsequent backlash that called for Israel to be ousted from the competition.

As we head to her agent’s office, she confesses her astonishment at the whirlwind transformation of her life.

“I’ve gone from one of the darkest places to one of the brightest,” she reflects softly.

By that, she means October 7 at the Nova music festival, when Palestinian terrorists stormed Israel in the deadliest attack on Jewish civilians since the Holocaust, leading to a war in Gaza which Israel has been criticised for.

Yuval fled to a bomb shelter that was sprayed with bullets — 19 people inside were killed. Her father was on the phone, urging her to play dead. 

It was advice that saved her life. 

Just 18 months later, the 25-year-old found herself thrust into one of the most politically charged music competitions in the world. 

Pro-Palestinian activists called for Israel to be banned. Mobs gathered outside venues. Threats followed her every move including someone trying to storm the stage. 

She was filmed being subjected to throat-slitting gestures and travelled with security normally reserved for a head of state. 

Yuval says she was so focused on performing that the scale of the hostility and potential danger only truly sank in once she was back in Israel.

‘I wasn’t scared. I was immersed in the emotion of the song.’

‘What I remember most clearly is the crowd — especially after the turquoise carpet, when we were put on that little train,’ she recalls. ‘There were so many protests. Signs with words like “slaughter”. People pointing at me. And then, on stage, of course, the flags.’

‘I was led completely by love from my heart — while everything around me felt filled with hatred. And that hatred came from the side accusing us of violence. In a way, it exposed reality.’

The hostility, she says, was felt even backstage.

‘There were a few contestants who were genuinely kind to me — a girl from the Netherlands and a very young male contestant from Norway who sang “Lighter”.’

But the warmth did not last.

‘After the final — after I came second — they unfollowed me on Instagram,’ she says bewildered.

‘We weren’t friends. But we were kind to each other. We encouraged each other.’

One interaction, in particular, stayed with her.

‘Before the final, we were backstage with the flags. Every time I passed the Norwegian contestant, I stopped and said: “Good luck — you’ll do great.” I did that three or four times. I’d give him a little kiss on the cheek and move on. He always smiled. He always said thank you.’

After the results were announced, they passed each other again.

‘This time, he said nothing. And later, he unfollowed me.’

She shakes her head.

‘I didn’t understand the point of it. It makes you wonder whether there’s any value in that kind of hatred at all?’

What frightens her most is how easily people can be influenced.

‘Have you seen the film The Wave? It shows how one person can manipulate good people into doing terrible things — even without truth. It’s terrifying how quickly people change, how easily they ignore facts and follow the herd.’

Despite some countries trying everything to get Israel banned and giving her low points via the judges, Yuval was stunned by winning the popular vote in some of those countries such as Spain — and by the support she received across Europe.

‘That shocked me,’ she admits. ‘I remember standing there, knowing that in some countries the broadcast focused only on what was happening in Gaza — nothing about me. And suddenly I realised the crowd was with me.’ She questions how disconnected leaders are from their own public.

She singles out one country in particular.

‘I want to personally thank the people in the UK,’ she says. ‘You gave me my highest number of public votes. That meant more to me than I can explain.’

She believes media incitement has played a role but most can see through it.

‘So many non-Jewish people write to me. They tell me they love my music, that they were moved by the message. That matters.’

When accusations surfaced that Israel had ‘cheated’ the public vote, she is unequivocal.

‘The public vote is open to everyone, in every country. People vote for who they connect with — that’s the entire point of Eurovision. When other countries receive support from neighbours or diaspora communities, it’s called love for the music. When it’s Israel, it suddenly becomes suspicious.’

Spain, Belgium and Finland formally questioned Yuval Raphael’s popularity and demanded ‘transparency’ from the European Broadcasting Union. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) responded that there were no ‘suspicious or irregular voting patterns’.

Yuval gave this interview one month after a tense EBU assembly in Geneva, where KAN CEO Golan Yochpaz and EBU representative Ayala Mizrahi successfully argued against efforts to exclude Israel from Eurovision, framing them as a cultural boycott that undermines freedom of expression. 

After months of coordinated opposition, KAN remained in the competition following extensive diplomatic engagement. 

She pauses.

‘Maybe the real question is why it’s so hard for some people to accept that Israel receives support and empathy at all.’

The controversy did not end there. Eurovision winner Nemo from Switzerland — who has publicly taken a political stance critical of Israel — later returned their trophy as a protest.

Yuval finds the gesture deeply troubling.

‘I think the competition Nemo participated in is about one of life’s most beautiful things: music,’ she says. ‘When you give back your trophy, you turn something meant to unite people into a political statement. I can’t see the point of it.’

‘If you really want to take a stand, then do something meaningful. Giving back a trophy feels like the bare minimum — just enough to make a headline.’

What she wants most is honesty.

‘What I genuinely want to ask — from the heart — is: how much did you actually research? Where did you look? How deeply did you look?’

She leans forward.

‘That’s why I say: meet me. Come and sit with me. I’m completely open. Before The Rising Star, before Eurovision, I used to go around simply telling my story to anyone willing to listen.

‘If they’re willing, I’ll meet them tomorrow morning……Tomorrow morning!’

Whether opinions change is beside the point.

‘I don’t even care if their opinion changes. What I question is how much they truly examined the other side.’

‘If you choose to have an opinion — especially one that can incite harm — you have a responsibility to understand both sides fully. Not through Instagram. Not through TikTok. Not through platforms that reward outrage instead of truth.’

She says the hostility surrounding Eurovision reflects a wider reality, and speaks on the boycott attempts with the decision of Spain, Iceland, Slovenia, The Netherlands and Ireland not to participate in Eurovision this year due the fact Israel will take part. 

‘Under banners of “justice” and “morality,” some countries choose boycotts and exclusion and call it values — when in reality it only fuels more hatred,’ she says. 

‘The boycott campaign is painful to see. Sadly, it’s only a small reflection of what Israel is facing globally. Countries choosing collective boycotts and exclusion is not courage, it’s fear of dialogue. 

‘It leads nowhere but deeper division. Countries that preach values while excluding artists forgot the true role of music and culture: to build bridges, not walls. Israel is not dismantling Eurovision, those who boycott are doing that themselves!

‘There’s millions of people worldwide who genuinely love this competition, who come for the music and the emotion, without political filters or hatred. Denying them that experience, those moments of joy, excitement and human connection, strikes at the very heart of what Eurovision is meant to be for everyone.’

She pauses.

‘That hatred spills into real life. Jewish people are being targeted globally. What did Jewish people in Australia do to anyone? This didn’t come from nowhere.’

She still receives harassment when travelling abroad, often triggered by social media.

‘When it’s an insult, I don’t care. I know it comes from ignorance. But when people threaten to physically hurt me — when they write, “We’re looking for you” — that’s frightening.’

Yuval recently recorded ‘Amber Skies’, the theme song for ‘One day in October’, an HBO series about October 7. 

‘It’s deeply meaningful to me,’ she says. ‘What matters is that it will be shown worldwide. If it helps people understand what really happened, then it has value.’

Even fiction, she says, cannot capture the truth.

‘You couldn’t invent something like that — even in a horror film. But it happened. That is the truth.’

She released her first mini-album, ’22:22′, six weeks ago and is currently working on new material, including songs in English, alongside a new music video. 

In November she performed her very own first concert in front of ticket-buying fans in Tel Aviv, and Last September, she received the United Hatzalah Hero Award at the organisation’s annual Los Angeles gala, presented by actress Gal Gadot. 

Despite her feet not touching the ground since the competition, Yuval has accepted that healing will be lifelong.

‘One of the biggest realisations I’ve had is accepting that I’ll be in recovery forever — and that’s okay.’

‘You can’t change what you’ve been through. But you can change your mindset. I see this world as an opportunity to better your soul — to learn.’

She smiles softly.

‘What I went through is a lesson I’ll work on every day. If I can take something so horrific and pass it on — to my future children, my friends, the people around me — then it becomes a blessing.

‘You learn about fear and evil. But you also learn how beautiful life is. How fragile time is. And how important it is to make every moment count.’