Israel's Eurovision representative, Yuval Raphael, posed for a photo paying tribute to the iconic picture of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, looking out over the Rhine in Basel.

The photo was posted after her triumphant performance of “New Day Will Rise” in the second semifinal of Eurovision 2025 on Thursday night, which landed Israel a spot in the final.

The photo of Raphael on Friday was snapped in the same location where Herzl posed in 1901 when he was attending the fifth Zionist Congress.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, which sponsors Israel’s participation in Eurovision, released it with Herzl’s most famous quote, "If you will it, it is no dream.”

Raphael's journey to Eurovision

It’s easy to see why this quote has special resonance for Raphael, who overcame her trauma after surviving the Hamas terror attack on the Supernova Music Festival on October 7, 2023, to win The Next Star for Eurovision, Israel’s contest that chooses the Eurovision representative. And now she has not only made it to the competition, but won a place in the finals.
Theodor Herzl on the Hotel Les Trois in Basel, Switzerland. (The Bettman Archive) (credit: EPHRAIM MOSHE LILIEN)
Theodor Herzl on the Hotel Les Trois in Basel, Switzerland. (The Bettman Archive) (credit: EPHRAIM MOSHE LILIEN)
On Wednesday, the day before the semifinal, a huge poster/video of Raphael went up in Times Square in New York, urging people to vote for her in Eurovision.
Video of Yuval Raphael in New York's Times Square (Courtesy of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Consulate in New York)
The final will be held on Saturday night, and people all around the world can vote for her. The final, with all its glitz and glamour, will air in Israel on KAN 11 and will be shown on networks around the world to hundreds of millions.