From trauma to triumph: Yuval Raphael readies to take first post-Eurovision stage - exclusive

The singer’s voice, charismatic persona, and personal story won the hearts of hundreds of millions of fans around the world on May 17, as she took the stage at the Eurovision finals in Basel and sang her heart out, bringing out the beauty in every note of “New Day Will Rise,” the song Keren Peles composed with her in mind. She capped her performance by uttering the Hebrew phrase, Am Yisrael Chai! – the nation of Israel lives!

Six months later, she positively sparkles as she talks about preparing for her upcoming concert in Tel Aviv on November 1, at Amphi Tel Aviv, which will mark so many firsts for her. It will be her first concert as headliner, her first time performing with a full band instead of to a playback, and her first solo show in Israel.

But she didn’t only survive – she has thrived, metamorphosing into not just a star, but a hero. All week prior to the finals, she faced threats, hostility, and intimidation on stage and off, and many booed as she sang, but every moment that she faced the audience, this young woman, who had never performed in public before the Next Star competition, grew in confidence and musicality, topping the audience vote with 297 points and winning the audience vote section of the contest.  In a year when many broadcasters, artists, and protesters said loudly that no Israeli should take part in the event, she proved that the majority of Eurovision audiences very much wanted to hear from her – and from us. While the national juries were not as enthusiastic, likely a reflection of their feelings toward Israel rather than Raphael, she finished in second place overall.

Following Eurovision, she has been performing all over the world, keeping a packed schedule. Just before singing in London, she took time to open up about her life and share her hard-earned wisdom about coping with trauma.

AS WE opened the interview, her first full one since Eurovision, I couldn’t help gushing like any fan, something she has gotten used to over the last five months. But as we spoke, it was clear that her sudden fame has not gotten to her, and that she is still a little in shock over her success – and the fact that she has touched so many lives.

Asked what kind of music inspires her, she said, “I honestly listen to everything – metal, rock, reggae, pop, R&B, hip hop, rap. There isn’t a genre missing from my playlist. But what I love most is when three worlds come together: pop, rock, and ballads. That blend feels magical to me. Rock has so much emotion and power, ballads bring pure feeling, and pop adds emotion too, but in a lighter way. Together they create something special.

“Together, the songs form a story: beginning, middle, and end: the personal journey, the broader picture, and finally the message for the future,” Rafael said. “People always say every great performance tells a story, and for me, those three songs do exactly that. Only now, looking back, I can see how perfectly they fit together as one complete narrative. Of course, beyond those three, I’m also preparing new material for the upcoming show.”

While she admitted that she still gets butterflies before every performance, I asked her how she managed to conquer her nerves at Eurovision.

“I was so centered in myself. First of all, I had the most incredible team around me – honestly, I couldn’t have asked for people more perfectly suited for me. And on top of everything, having my mother there made it even more powerful,” she said. Her family has supported her at every moment in her journey, she emphasized throughout the interview.

Kan, Israel’s public broadcasting authority, broadcasts Eurovision and Kan’s Israeli delegation has accompanied her through every stage of her journey. On stage in Basel, she said, “I was driven by two things: first, to convey my message – that was the most important thing to me. And second, to enjoy the moment: to stand on stage and truly feel joy, to feel that sense of victory: I’m here, no matter what happens.”

And a lot could have happened. At her appearance on Eurovision’s turquoise carpet before the main event, anti-Israel protesters heckled her  and, more ominously, a man pointedly drew his hand across his throat, as if he planned to kill her. When she took part in an open rehearsal and during her performances, a sizable portion of the audience booed, although that was so expected, she even rehearsed to boos to prepare herself. But she stayed focused on the task at hand.

“If I sang off-key, forgot the words, made any mistake – none of it would matter. And in the end, none of those things happened. I think that’s because I let go of the fear. I told myself: Even if it does happen, enjoy it. And when you let go of fear, you give yourself permission to be free – and once you’re not afraid, those things don’t even happen. So yes, I was deeply centered,” she said.

“People ask me about it all the time, and I have the privilege of being able to say: I enjoyed every single moment. From the bottom of my heart, I enjoyed it so much that if someone told me, ‘Go do it all again,’ I would – without hesitation.”

THE FACT that she was performing in Switzerland – where she lived as a child when her family moved there for three years for her parents’ work – was also significant. “Israel is my number one place, but after that, it’s Switzerland,” she said.

Still, she acknowledged that it was impossible to shut out the pressure completely. “If I had to name one real challenge, it wasn’t on stage – it was in the interviews,” she said. “At the end of the day, Eurovision is a huge institution, and it isn’t about me personally. Because of the scale of it all, and the sensitivity of the situation back home, there was a lot of pressure to keep the politics and the chaos at a distance.”

Sounding far more diplomatic than many experienced politicians, she said, “So my biggest challenge was finding balance in interviews –walking that fine line between what I was allowed to say and what I couldn’t say, while still trying, as much as possible, to communicate our message and our reality. I had to find a way to do it in a way that wouldn’t disqualify me from the competition. That was the hardest part.

Eurovision has its rules — officially, it’s not a political competition. But the tricky part is that the subject is so sensitive, that even things which aren’t meant to be political could be interpreted as political. That’s what made it so hard — constantly navigating those limitations.”

Raphael walked this tightrope expertly, saying what she could, and letting her singing say the rest, even winning over outlets such as the BBC, that are not traditionally friendly to Israel. Through the winning combination of her performance and her persona, she managed to connect with millions.

“And it wasn’t just about Israel or Jewish audiences,” she said. “After one of my interviews with the Daily Mail in the UK, an 80-year-old Christian woman wrote a letter to the paper saying she had been touched by my words. She said she wanted to send me a hug, that I moved her, and that I made her believe in how beautiful the world can be. That shows me something: that the music and the message reach people everywhere, across every border, across every faith.”

While many young stars are barely aware of what’s going on in the news, Raphael is quite different, and she is concerned over the fact that countries are threatening to boycott the song contest this year if Israel takes part. “Yes –the situation for us globally is very hard right now. Yes – there’s a lot of hatred out there,” she said. “It’s painful and it’s real. But at the same time, there is also hope. And there are people who are open, who are touched, who want to connect. That optimism is something I’ve always felt was important to hold on to, and I’ll never stop carrying it forward.”

Of course, the support from Israelis and Jewish audiences has kept her going from the beginning. “I’ve received so much love from Jewish communities worldwide –their support is endless. And I want to take this opportunity to say thank you. Truly, from my heart: your love sustains me, motivates me, and gives me strength.”

IT IS especially meaningful to her that this interview will be published in the Simchat Torah supplement and that her Israeli concert will take place just a few weeks after the second anniversary of October 7.

“My upcoming concert in Israel, almost two years after October 7, is filled with complexity. It stirs so many emotions. For me, it’s also a reminder: we always keep moving forward; we never go backward. Every step leads us onto a new and different path. Even if years pass, I hope I’ll always carry that with me – that no matter when or where I perform, there will always be a spark of hope in it. That’s what matters most to me.”

Although I was warned ahead of time not to ask her to revisit the gruesome details of her hours in the bomb shelter, this seemed like the right moment to ask about how she has coped with trauma. For those who are interested in hearing her tell her October 7 story in full, she gave testimony about it in English in an interview for the Jerusalem Institute of Justice that is available below. She has given several interviews about her survival experience, saying that to share it gives her strength. She also spoke before the United Nations Human Rights Council.

I told her that people might see her accomplished performances in Eurovision and Next Star and think that she has simply gotten over her trauma and moved on, although obviously it couldn’t be that simple.

She didn’t have to pause before answering: “That’s such an important question. I don’t think ‘getting over it’ is the right expression – because trauma doesn’t leave you. The real question is not ‘How do you get rid of it?’ but ‘What do you take from it?’ Trauma stays with you – but what you choose to carry out of it, that’s up to you.

“In everything, even in the darkest experiences, there’s always the possibility of finding a lesson, an opening,” Raphael said. “Even the most negative thing in the world can become a way to unlock your emotions, to know yourself better, to discover parts of yourself you didn’t know before.

“If I could give advice, it would be two things. First: get help. There’s no shame in asking for support – no matter what someone has experienced or how big or small it seems,” the October 7 survivor said. “Reaching out is one of the healthiest and bravest things you can do. Second: move with your fear. Don’t wait for the fear to disappear before you start living your life or chasing your dreams. Waiting for the ‘perfect’ moment often means the moment never comes. Instead, take steps alongside the fear – act even though you’re scared. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and ask for help, and then you can do both: heal and move forward. From those two things – allowing vulnerability and moving with fear while seeking help – I found a lot of healing.”

IN FACT, the journey to her musical career began with that healing process, because before Nova, she knew she wanted to sing professionally, but didn’t have the confidence to audition,” the now-famous singer said.

“The truth is, I was scared. I was terrified of failing. With this career comes criticism – and that’s putting it mildly. I was so afraid I wouldn’t succeed. But the dream never left me – not for a single day. It was always there, always burning in me. And when you know in your heart, a thousand percent, that this is what you’re meant to do – but you hold back out of fear –that’s the worst feeling.”

She said that one of the musicians, Shahar Bar Nitzan, whom she met when he played at a healing retreat for survivors, had helped her make the leap. “Over time, we became very close. Those retreats became a milestone in my journey –a place where I slowly began opening up again. Before then, I was very closed off. I knew I could sing – deep down I always knew – but I didn’t allow myself to, not fully.

Bar encouraged me constantly. He’d say: ‘Your voice is beautiful, people need to hear it. Tell me what you want to sing, I’ll play it for you.’ He reminded me again and again that it was too special to keep hidden. He was a big part of helping me find my voice again. And now, to stand beside him on stage, as part of my own band, is beyond incredible. It gives me chills.”

This is the first time she will be headlining her own concert and that’s a big thrill for her. “I think it’s going to be a very special show because it will combine everything I am: sadness and joy, optimism and pain, opening old wounds and also celebrating life,” Raphael said. “All of that will come together through the music. I see it as an hour and a half of a message – a journey. And I believe people will see sides of me they haven’t seen before. The whole thing is very carefully crafted, and I’m pouring my heart and soul into it.”

After saying this, she had to run and continue rehearsing for her London performance. But before she left, there was one more thing that was important for her to say, which she says in every interview: “The hostages must come home… They should have been home long ago, and I will keep saying it until it happens.”