Israel’s Yuval Raphael defied expectations to come in second in the annual Eurovision song contest on Saturday, narrowly losing out to Austria after being buoyed by the popular vote but also drawing points from the juries in 14 countries. “Thank you, Europe! Am Yisrael chai!” Raphael shouted from the stage after her performance.

That’s what defines our people more than anything – no matter what we go through, we come back to life again and again.”Despite the calls to boycott Israel and Raphael’s trauma after she survived the massacre at the Nova music festival on October 7,

The singer's appearance in this year's contest has sparked pushback from protesters over Israel's inclusion in the contest.