Israel chose a singer who survived the attacks by Hamas as its representative

Israel has chosen its representative for this year’s Eurovision.

A representative has been selected Yuval Raphaelwho reportedly survived the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in October 2023. Raphael was at the festival with his friends, says Times of Israel. According to the newspaper, Raphael survived by hiding in a bomb shelter.

“I want to tell my story, but I’m not looking for pity. I want to stand strong as the face of all this and receive the boos that will come from the audience with one hundred percent certainty,” Raphael tells the Times of Israel.

Israel Public Radio will select Raphael’s representative song separately in the next few weeks.

of Israel participation in Eurovision has attracted strong opposition due to the war in Gaza. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 45,000 Palestinians have died in the war. Published at the beginning of January research according to the actual number is probably closer to 64,000.

Last year, especially in Ireland and the Nordic countries, it was demanded that Israel be excluded from the competition. A group of Finnish musicians in Finland demanded last year Yle to boycott Eurovision.

Human rights organizations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty have both suspected that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.

This year, Israel has closed Eurovision demanded so far only the Slovenian public broadcaster RTV. Slovenian Public Broadcasting Report according to which the country is considering withdrawing from the competition if Israel is allowed to participate.

Demonstrations are also being prepared in Finland to oppose Israel’s participation in visas.

Representative of Sumud Ry, which defends Palestinian human rights Anna Lustig tells HS that activists have planned demonstrations in support of Palestine in Tampere on the day of the UMK finals on February 8.

of Israel however, participation may fall due to the law reform planned by the country’s government. The Israeli government is currently planning to privatize its public broadcaster KAN.

The European broadcasting company Ebu is not happy with the plan.

Chairman of Ebu Noel Curran says for the Jerusalem Postthat privatization would “almost certainly” result in Israel’s public broadcaster KAN being excluded from Ebu cooperation.

Only countries that either belong to Ebu or cooperate with the company can participate in Eurovision.