Fifteen months ago, 1200 Israelis were murdered when thousands of Hamas terrorists flooded across our border with Gaza on that fateful October 7th morning. Hundreds of those victims were young Israelis who were attending the Nova music festival being held in the desert at the end of Sukkot (last year, Elana and I visited the site that now memorializes that horrendous, tragic act). You also know about the 251 Israelis and internationals who were taken hostage that day—four of whom are hopefully coming home tomorrow!
But how much have you heard about those who managed to miraculously survive the massacre?
I want to share with you about one amazing 24-year-old young woman, Yuval Raphael.
Yuval is a survivor of one of the “death shelters” (Warning: some graphic information follows). As Hamas terrorists were invading (by pick-up trucks, cars, motorcycles, and on foot), they were also firing missiles overhead. The young people who had gathered at the Nova festival started fleeing for their lives. Trying to get to safety from what they thought—at first—was only a threat from the skies, they ran for their cars.
"We were at a party [Nova], and around six in the morning, a barrage of missiles started," Raphael said. "We all rushed to the car; there were five of us...When we got to the car, there was a crazy mass of people and vehicles trying to leave (the festival area). In the end, when we got to the road, we saw a shelter, so we decided to pull over and get into it to protect ourselves from the missiles."
Forty-nine people, including Yuval and her friend, packed into a shelter outside Kibbutz Be’eri. Only 12 survived. Yuval stayed alive by hiding under a corpse. For EIGHT HOURS. For eight hours, she played dead. “I can’t explain how heavy a body becomes when it is dead," she remarked. "There were simply tons of people on us. We were surrounded from all sides; it was impossible to breathe."
Below is an interview Yuval gave last year for the Jerusalem Institute for Justice detailing her harrowing hours in the “death shelter.” When she first got into the bomb shelter, she called her father (he somehow had the presence of mind to record the conversation as his daughter begged him to send help)—he suddenly had the idea for her to play dead. I can not imagine if I got a phone call like this from one of my daughters! The interview is in English (with Hebrew subtitles in places). Please watch!
Since surviving that harrowing day, Raphael has been a passionate advocate for the survivors of the Nova festival. In March 2024, Raphael traveled to Geneva to join the Jerusalem Institute of Justice at the UN headquarters, where she testified about her experience surviving the atrocities on Oct. 7, 2023.
And this week, she won the honor of representing Israel in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest (our version of American Idol). This is an impressive feat, especially considering Raphael only began her professional singing career after surviving the October 7 attack.
Yuval Raphael sang ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” in Israel’s “Rising Star” competition and secured her spot in the Eurovision Competition.
To give you a little more background on the scope of Eurovision. First, there’s a competition all over Europe in each country. The winner from each country goes to Eurovision and represents their nation.
Last year, it was quite controversial because the whole world was against Israel. Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in the 2024 competition, was set to perform “October Rain”—a powerful and moving tribute to the victims of the Black Sabbath (the name Israelis have given October 7). However, due to strong sentiments against Israel at that time in the war, the contest authorities made Golan change the name of the song to “Hurricane” to try to tone down the message of the song and make it less “political.”
Eden Golan was very brave as she represented Israel in the competition—she received death threats and was booed during every performance, including in practice. But she ended up getting the second most votes from people voting at home all over Europe. It showed that the people were behind Israel, even if the activists and the politicians were not. Clearly, it was one of the best songs—if not THE best song—in the competition.
Now, in 2025, Israel will again remind the world of October 7.
Despite her trauma, Yuval Raphael says she is focusing on the joy music brings her, “I can't explain how excited and ready I am! Thank you for giving me the huge privilege and trusting me to represent my people.”
As Yuval lay on the ground, unable to breathe and surrounded by Hamas terrorists committed to killing her, clearly, she wondered if she would survive, much less sing again. Now, just over a year later, she won the right to represent Israel in Eurovision.
So this year, not only will we return, but we will return with a first-hand witness of Hamas’s brutality. The difference is Hamas has been utterly decimated, all of their leaders have been neutralized, while Yuval (Jubilee) is thriving. Sitting in that death chamber, she had never yet even sung publicly. Today, she is Israel's most beloved singer.
It’s also important to note that the runner-up was an Arab Israeli from Yafo, 25-year-old Valeri Chamati. Let’s not miss this—the Jewish nation, after the most horrific attack in her history at the hands of her Arab neighbors, nearly voted to have an Arab Israeli represent them in Eurovision. We desire to live in peace with those who wish us peace. Chamati is well known in Israel and is a very popular Arab Christian singer. She is loved by the Jewish population.
The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Switzerland on May 17.
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