Israel’s presence still roils pop music competition

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 was due to perform Thursday in the second semifinal at the contest in the Swiss city of Basel. Oddsmakers suggest Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack on a music festival in southern Israel that started the war, is likely to secure a place in Saturday’s final with her anthemic song “New Day Will Rise.”

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 Oct. 7 cross-border attacks by Hamas terrorists 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 Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Some have criticized 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 expects the same and has rehearsed with background noise so she won’t be distracted.

“But we are here to sing and I’m going to sing my heart out for everyone,” she said.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, pointed out that Israel is 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.

In Gaza, multiple airstrikes hit the southern city of Khan Younis overnight into Thursday. Another strike hit Jabaliya in northern Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas terrorist group.

Meanwhile, a new humanitarian organization that has U.S. backing to take over aid delivery to civilians in Gaza said Wednesday that it expects to begin operations before the end of the month.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation executive director Jake Wood, a U.S. military veteran and co-founder of an existing disaster relief group called Team Rubicon, said the commitment to starting operations within weeks follows discussions with Israeli officials.

Wood indicated Israelis had agreed to allow the foundation to deliver aid through existing systems in Gaza temporarily while the group builds new distribution sites that Israel has demanded for aid.

The foundation was in the “final stages” of gathering enough aid to serve 300 million meals in the first 90 days of operation, Wood wrote.