Israel’s Yuval Raphael said in the early hours of Sunday that she felt as though she had “won at life” after finishing in second place overall at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, and first in the public vote.
In an interview with the Kan public broadcaster minutes after receiving the results, Raphael initially appeared lost for words, telling the broadcaster frankly, “I don’t know how to react to the situation.”
“I feel like we’ve won at life,” she said, laughing briefly. “I don’t know how to explain it. I’ll be grateful for this situation every day of my life, I’ll be grateful for our nation every day of my life.”
“I’ve never felt so victorious before in my life,” said Raphael, who was wrapped in an Israeli flag.
Asked how it felt to sit among the Israeli delegation and watch the deluge of points flood in, Raphael said the experience was one of “pride.”
“All I wanted to do was bring honor and pride to this country, to make them proud, to give them a small second of peace amid all the madness,” she said, referring to the ongoing war in Gaza, triggered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault.
Taking a moment to reflect, Raphael said that there is “no real victory” like the victory that Israel will experience when the remaining 58 hostages are recovered from Gaza.
Raphael, 24, is herself a survivor of the October 7 Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival. She played dead and hid under a pile of bodies in a roadside bomb shelter for hours, with shrapnel embedded in her leg, until she was ultimately rescued.
Now, looking ahead, Raphael said that she planned to spend the next days celebrating her success.
“We’re going to celebrate! We’re going to celebrate and we’re going to breathe,” she told Kan. Honestly, I just want to return to Israel. I want to get off the plane and stand on Israeli soil. I just want to hug my friends.”
Raphael’s power ballad “New Day Will Rise” gained her the top spot in the public vote, with 297 points, but only 14th in the jury vote.
Austria topped the jury vote and finished fourth in the televote to take the win with its operatic ballad “Wasted Love.” Estonia finished in third place and the heavy favorites going into the competition, Sweden, ended up only in the fourth spot.
Asked about coming second to Austria’s JJ, Raphael praised him as a deserving winner.
“He has incredible vocals. He worked extremely hard, I’m very proud of him,” she said, adding: “He deserves it.”
Amy Spiro contributed to this report.