Israel hails new star after Euro glory
PRIOR TO the final of the Eurovision song contest, the anti-Israel Electronic Intifada website tweeted an article titled ‘Can Israel be stopped from winning Eurovision?’.
Late on Saturday night, Naftali Bennett, Israel’s Minister of Education and the Diaspora, quoted the tweet, with a one word answer: “No.”
Israel’s entry, Toy, written by Doron Medalie and Stav Berger and performed by Netta Barzilai — had been long tipped as a favourite to win.
Ms Barzilai, who performs under her first name, grabbed the chance to represent Israel at Eurovision after winning the country’s HaKokhav HaBa (The Next Star) singing contest.
However, Israel’s victory was by no means certain.
The last time the country triumphed in the song contest was 20 years ago, when Dana International won with her signature anthem, Diva.
Ms Barzilai won a decisive victory. Israel came third in the jury vote in Lisbon, scoring 212 points and receiving the maximum score of 12 points each from San Marino, Austria, Romania, France and Germany.
But it was the phone votes where she romped home. Despite the anti-Israel boycott campaign urging people to vote against the song, it received a further 317 points from the public, including the maximum from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, San Marino, Georgia, Spain, Moldova,
France and Australia. With a total of 529, Ms Barzilai won comfortably, finishing almost 100 points ahead of Cyprus in second place.
Ms Barzilai, who comes from Hod HaSharon in central Israel and studied at the country’s Rimon School of Music, described her song as one of
“empowerment for everybody who’s been struggling being themselves — struggling with their bosses, with the government, with someone stepping on them.
“I’ve been told so many times that I’m not pretty enough, that I’m not smart enough, that I’m not skinny enough to do what I want to do,” she said.
The star faced accusations of “cultural appropriation” from some spectators due to her Japanese-style costume and make-up.
News organisations including Russia Today also claimed the singer had attempted to “politicise” Eurovision by telling fans “next year in Jerusalem” — seemingly unaware the phrase has been used within Judaism for centuries.
The 25-year-old described her win as “a great moment for me, for the [Israeli] delegation and for the country. I am happy that we managed to create a reason for joy in a country that does not have a lot of reasons to celebrate”.
Thousands of Israelis celebrated the victory in the streets of Tel Aviv until the early hours of Sunday morning, with a further street party taking place in the Machane Yehudah neighbourhood of Jerusalem.
On Monday evening, tens of thousands gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv for a celebratory concert, at which Ms Barzilai performed.
“Tel Aviv, I love you! Look what we did together,” the triumphant singer told the crowd. “Look at everyone together! We have such a reason to be happy!”
Ms Barzilai herself is likely to be very happy in years to come, as fame, fortune and worldwide touring opportunities beckon.