Israel qualifies for Eurovision final after pro-Palestinian dress rehearsal protests 

Israel has qualified for the final of Eurovision 2025, despite Pro-Palestinian protests taking place during their dress rehearsal.

• READ MORE: Eurovision 2024 – fans and boycotters speak: “This is bigger than the contest”

Confirmation that they would be moving into Saturday’s grand final comes following Yuval Raphael – the 24-year-old contestant representing Israel – having her performance of ‘New Day Will Rise’ at a dress rehearsal disrupted.

Six people holding “oversized” Palestinian flags disrupted her act during a preview show yesterday afternoon (May 15), and Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR said that the audience members were quickly ejected from the arena. The rules stipulate that all flags are allowed, although there is a limit to the size.

“​Security personnel were able to quickly identify those involved and escort them out of the hall,” said a spokesperson (via RTÉ). “We would like to thank all the artists, delegations, staff, fans and guests, including many children, who are making ESC 2025 a unique experience. At the same time, we would like to emphasise that the organisers are committed to a neutral, safe, inclusive and respectful environment at the ESC.”

The interrupted performance comes amid much controversy around Israel taking part in Eurovision 2025 due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the military enforcing blockades of all food and other humanitarian supplies.

There have been calls to have Israel and national broadcaster KAN banned from the 2025 song contest, including from over 70 former Eurovision contestants. Four broadcasters from different countries have also questioned Israel’s role in the song contest. RTVE from Spain requested a discussion about the involvement, Slovenia’s RTV SLO network urged for Israel to be banned, Iceland’s foreign minister called it “strange” that the country could still be involved in the contest, and Irish broadcaster RTÉ has asked Eurovision for a discussion over the decision.

Yuval Raphael is a survivor of the Nova Music Festival attack on October 7 2023, in which roughly 1,200 people were killed by Hamas and 251 were taken hostage. It provoked a 15-month-long attack on Gaza, and since October 2023 over 52,800 people have been killed in the city – including 2,700 since the Israeli offensive resumed (as per BBC).

Rules laid out by the EBU outline that no political statements can be made during the song contest. In alignment with this, Raphael has not been discussing what happened to her at Nova on October 7 2023 in the run-up to the competition.

Earlier this week, she shared that she is anticipating booing during her performance at the final, and has been practicing with “distractions” in place in the run up to the event.

Despite protests during her dress rehearsal, her televised appearance in the semi-final last night passed without interruptions, and she was later confirmed as making the final. Upon hearing the news, she brought her hands together and blew a kiss towards the sky.

Disqualified countries on the night included Australia, Ireland, Czechia, Georgia, Montenegro and Serbia.

It was the first two that came as the biggest shock, as Australia’s pop entry ‘Milkshake Man’ had a warm reception ahead of the contest, and Ireland performed particularly well last year, with Bambie Thug coming in sixth place.

In response to pushes for Israel to not be permitted to take part in Eurovision 2025, the song contest’s director, Martin Green CBE said that they “understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East.”

“We are not immune to global events but, together, it is our role to ensure the Contest remains – at its heart – a universal event that promotes connections, diversity and inclusion through music,” Green added. “The EBU remains aligned with other international organisations that have similarly maintained their inclusive stance towards Israeli participants in major competitions at this time.”

The Guardian recently shared that the reason that Israel is allowed to compete goes deeper, and may relate to how the old Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was abolished in 2017 and replaced by current broadcaster KAN.

“The reasons cited were financial, but commentators argue that it was a political move: the IBA was seen as too leftwing… KAN is more docile than the IBA – but still not docile enough for the government, which wants to it handed to the private sector,” it claimed. “The communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, previously put forward a proposal to this effect in 2023, accusing the network of biased coverage and claiming that it spoke in a ‘disgraceful manner’ towards members of the government. Such a body would be breaking EBU rules and would not be allowed into Eurovision.”

It continued: “The EBU feels obliged to protect KAN, even if that means risking the Eurovision brand.”

The grand finale of Eurovision 2025 is set to take place tomorrow night (May 17) and will be available in the UK on BBC and iPlayer.

According to the latest bookies odds, Swedish comedy trio KAJ are favourites to win with their song ‘Bara Bada Bastu’. They currently have a 42 per cent chance of snagging the crown this year.

Austrian singer JJ is the second favourite with his operatic ballad ‘Wasted Love’, with odds of 21 per cent, while French singer Louane is in third place at eight per cent for her song ‘Maman’. Despite the controversy surrounding Israel, Raphael is currently the sixth favourite with her piano ballad ‘New Day Will Rise’, at three per cent in the latest bookies’ odds. Check out all the rankings here.

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