Israeli vocalist and Oct. 7 Hamas massacre survivor Yuval Raphael was threatened by a pro-terror “protester” who was among a mob of haters waving Palestinian Authority flags on Sunday at the Eurovision Song Contest’s opening “Turquoise Carpet” event in Basel, Switzerland.
The agitators came to demonstrate against the Israeli delegation to the competition, carrying signs that proclaimed, “Israel, open the borders of Gaza, help can enter” and “You can’t cheer for apartheid.”
Raphael and her team were also directly threatened by a young pro-terror agitator wearing a keffiyeh during the delegation parade. The agitator drew his hand across his throat – mimicking the Muslim jihadist beheading technique of slitting one’s throat – and spat at Raphael and the rest of the delegation.
צפו: תיעודים נוספים מההפגנות הפרו-פלסטיניות באירוע פתיחת שבוע האירוויזיון בבזל >>> https://t.co/O6J1HYwiFh@AmitHarari2 pic.twitter.com/b5bBykU70y
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 11, 2025
Raphael survived the October 7, 2023 invasion and massacre by thousands of Hamas-led terrorists by hiding for hours under nearly a dozen dead bodies.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation filed a complaint with Swiss police over the incident.
Last week, 72 former Eurovision contestants attempted to block Israel from participating in the competition. The former contestants signed a letter to the European Broadcasting Corporation claiming, “the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation ‘KAN’ is complicit in the genocide that Israel is committing against the Palestinians in Gaza.”
The Irish Public Broadcasting Corporation (RTÉ) announced this weekend that it received a commitment from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to hold a “broad discussion” among its members regarding Israel’s participation in the competition. The announcement came following an appeal by RTÉ Director General Kevin Buckhurst, who called for a discussion on the subject against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
Bear in mind that the Eurovision Song Contest is supposed to be a non-political event focused solely on music.
On the bright side, Yuval Raphael will be participating in the second semi-final set for this Thursday, as song number 14.
Love of our life ?
יובל רפאל עם 30 שניות ראשונות מההופעה בבזל
האירוויזיון ישודר בכאן 11, כאן BOX ובתחנות הרדיו של כאן בשלישי, חמישי ושבת החל מ-22:00 אל תוך הלילה pic.twitter.com/xFuCTPuI0g— כאן (@kann) May 9, 2025
Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, will carry all the Eurovision broadcasts starting at 10 pm Israel time on May 13, 15 and 17, live on KAN 11 TV, KAN Radio and KAN BOX.
