Jerusalem News 25 May 2025, 27 Iyar, 5785.
Contents:
A. Eurovision.
1. The Israeli Contestant Yuval Raphael. Background. Survivor of Hamas Terror Attack.
2. The Singing Contest.
3. Lyrics. 'New Day Will Rise.'
"a love poem with possible vague Messianic connotations."
4. The Contest Results.
5. An Opinion from Ireland Sums it up.
B. Other New Items.
6. President Trump is Right About What's Happening in South Africa.
7. Israeli Govm't Committee Advances Bill to Designate Qatar - Terror-Supporting State.
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A. Eurovision.
1. The Israeli Contestant Yuval Raphael. Background. Survivor of Hamas Terror Attack.
Yuval Raphael, aged 25, received 2nd place in Eurovision Song Contest of 2025 and came close to winning it.
The events leading up to this and the results are of interest in general and also from the point of view of Brit-Am.
The name "Yuval" means "stream" or river tributary. She was born in the Moshav (farming co-operative settlement) of Padayah near Ramle. Padayah was founded by Jews from Iraq.
Her aunt is Ronit Raphael owner of Raphael Cosmetics which has an international reputation with branches in both Israel and Switzerland.
On October 7, 2023,Yuval was attending with friends the Nova Music Festival in Re'im when Hamas militants launched their invasion of Israel from nearby Gaza.. Yuval took refuge with around 50 others in a shelter near Kibbutz Be'eri.
Hamas terrorists were wandering around outside and every now and again entering to throw grenades and fire shots. Yuval described the situation to her father by phone who advised her to stop talking and cover herself with one of the dead bodies of her companions.
This advice saved her life. She did however sustain shrapnel injuries from the grenades. Before being rescued she had been laying in that position for about 8 hours and had been on the verge of desperation.
Yuval was one of 11 survivors out of the 50 or 60 who hjad been there. She later gave a speech before the United Nations Human Rights Council, and described what she had witnessed
Remember:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israeli men women and children on one day.
They raped women and tortured men, women, and babies before the eyes of their families. They filmed themselves doing it as planned in advance.
They would do it again as soon as they could.
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2. The Singing Contest.
The Eurovision Song Contest is held once a year. It covers the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) which includes Europe, North Africa, Turkey, and the Near East meaning Israel and its neighbors. Australia has affiliate status and also participates.
Israeli Sponsorship of Eurovision.
An Israeli cosmetics company, "Moroccanoil," was the main sponsor ("presenting partner") of the Eurovision Song Contest. It has been that way since 2019.
The Lyrics written and sang by Yuval Raphael.
The song sang by Yuval was 'New Day Will Rise.' She herself wrote this song. It was sung in English, French, and Hebrew.
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3. Lyrics. 'New Day Will Rise.'
"a love poem with possible vague Messianic connotations."
And even if you say goodbye
You'll never go away
You are the rainbow of my sky
My colours in the grey
My only wish upon a star
Sunshine in the day
The only song that my piano ever plays
And even if you say goodbye
You'll always be around
To lift me up and take me high
Keep my feet close to the ground
Are you proud of me tonight
Dreams are coming true
I choose the light
Nothing to lose if I lose you
New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don't cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But we will stay
Even if you say goodbye.
This song reads like a love poem with possible vague Messianic connotations. For some reason it was criticized for having political implications.
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4. The Contest Results.
The winner was Austria with the song "Wasted Love", performed by JJ i.e Johannes Pietsch, a half-Austrian half Filipino, who has spent most of his life in Dubai. He describes himself as "queer." The Eurovision Song Contest prides itself on having a queer-friendly ambience. Ambiguous Pagan and New Age motifs were quite common in the contest though some of them were not that way.
Some of the songs were quite good.
Yair Davidiy himself only managed to see brief excerpts from a few of them. I thought France and Italy may have been worth a second look thouigh I would not necessarily agree with their message.
The song of Yuval and a message.
Everyone agrees the song was quite good and the message was positive. The song of Yuval may really have been the best there despite everything.
Pietsch of Austria won the vote due to Jury Panel decision. He may have known in advance that he would win. JJ's song "Wasted Love" was unintelligible to my untrained ears and sounded like a senseless screech.
The popular vote was won by Yuval Raphael of Israel who received second place.
Immediately after the competition, Pietsch expressed "disappointment" over Israel's participation.
The decision as to who won was determined half by a Panel of experts from each participating country with 12 votes each and half by public vote.
The top five performers were Austria, Israel, Estonia, Sweden and Italy.
The British representatives in the panel gave all their 12 votes to Israel that altogether received only 60 votes from the Panel.
The public vote however gave Israel 297 points. This was the highest number awarded to any of the contestants.
Countries that gave the maximum 12 points to Israel were San Marino, Sweden, Portugal, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Great Britain, Finland, Switzerland, Australia, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain - and more votes from the rest of the world.
Ireland gave 10 out of a possible 12.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for the exclusion of Israel from future competition. He also claimed that is not possible that his country, Spain, had given all their popular vote to Israel and implied that foul play is suspected.
On the other hand vote rigging in the opposite direction (against Israel) may well have taken place. The Eurovision organizers did not want Israel to win since this would have meant having (according to tradition) to consider Israel as the venue for the next contest, ee:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwETu9mcTA4
In previous attempts to exclude Israel have been blocked by Germany.
The Israeli teams had been harassed from the beginning and needed heavy security protection. Intruders burst onto the stage. The singing of Yuval was almost unheard by the audience due to very heavy boooing and hissing. This was cancelled out and replaced by recorded applause for the televised version.
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5. An Opinion from Ireland Sums it up.
An opinion from Ireland posted on Quora said the following:
# It wasn't a bad song. She was a very good singer. Personally for me it was a bit middle of road that seemed like it might deliver something special but didn't quite get there, so while good wasn't great - ....I know others thought it was brilliant.
# The majority though I know who did vote for Israel did so as they saw what they viewed as a young girl being threatened, bullied and treated appallingly. Most Irish people in my experience do not like this and indeed many other countries also, we simply do not like bullies and this was a way of getting back at them by voting for her, I'd actually say this was far and away the largest group of votes received from most countries ...
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B. Other News Items.
6. President Trump is Right About What's Happening in South Africa
The White House
May 21, 2025
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/05/president-trump-is-right-about-whats-happening-in-south-africa/
Today, President Donald J. Trump showed the world the shocking treatment of white farmers in South Africa - including with a video montage that highlighted the discrimination and violence targeted at the innocent minority victims.
President Trump was exactly right.
'We left because of the attacks. You can't stay on a farm as a white person in South Africa. You know you'll be killed,' said one South African refugee.
New York Post: White South African couple say they're victims of racial attacks ' and can't wait to be in Trump's America.
The Daily Mail: Why white South Africans are fleeing surging violence and 'racist' laws for new lives in America
BBC: 'I didn't come here for fun' - Afrikaner defends refugee status in US
Breitbart: Trump Vindicated as South Africa Considers Bill to Redistribute Land on Racial Lines
BBC: South African president signs controversial land seizure law
The law is vague, stating that expropriation is allowed in circumstances where it is 'just and equitable and in the public interest' to do so.
BBC: 'Close to 70,000 South Africans have expressed interest in moving to the US following Washington's offer to resettle people from the country's Afrikaner community, a business group has said.'
The New York Times: 'Kill the Boer' Song Fuels Backlash in South Africa and U.S.
'The political rally was winding down when the brash leader of a leftist South African party grabbed the microphone and began to stomp and chant. Thousands of supporters joined in, and when he reached the climax, they pointed their fingers in the air like guns. 'Kill the Boer!' Julius Malema chanted, referring to white farmers. The crowd in a stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday roared back in approval.
The New York Times: Killing of White Farmer Becomes a Flash Point in South Africa
Sky News: 'Anti-white racism': Farmers being targeted in South Africa
news.com.au: South Africans trapped 'like frogs in boiling water' as racial violence escalates
The Independent: South Africa: Taking farms from whites is justified because 'it's not really their land', says EFF spokesman
New York Sun: From Murdered White Farmers to 'Racially Disfavored Landowners': Why Trump and Musk Are Targeting South Africa
The Independent: Farmers in South Africa claim they are being targeted in 'horrific' attacks
news.com.au: South Africa farm attacks: Brutal crimes landowners face
The Daily Mail: There's been a murder a week on farms in South Africa this year. Now a race-baiting Marxist who loves singing Kill the Boer is set to become Vice President
Fox News: South African political leader calls for violence against White citizens at rally: 'Kill the Boer, the farmer'.
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7. Israeli Gov't Committee Advances Bill to Designate Qatar 'Terror-Supporting State'
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/middle-east/qatar/israeli-govt-committee-advances-bill-to-designate-qatar-terror-supporting-state/2025/05/20/
By
Hana Levi Julian
May 20, 2025
Extracts:
'Qatar has been the financial lifeline of Hamas for years,' Illouz told JNS on Monday. 'It hosted Hamas leaders in Doha, poured billions into Gaza, gave platforms to Hezbollah and looked the other way as money flowed to jihadist groups. It dressed up its terror support in diplomacy and PR.'
However, 'the mask is off,' the Likud member continued. 'Qatar is a state sponsor of terror, and no amount of gas money will buy our silence.'
Illouz explained that the legislation was unlikely to affect the current hostage talks, charging that what harmed the remaining 58 captives is 'that Hamas lived like kings in Qatar for over a decade.'
'Qatar has tried to buy itself a moderate image, but in its actions, through financing terrorism, incitement and strategic investments that aid Israel's enemies - it acts exactly like a terrorist state,' he (Kroizer) said.
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