Israeli Noam Bettan scores second place at Eurovision

Several European countries withdrew from Eurovision over Israel’s inclusion.

By World Israel News Staff

Singer Noam Bettan, who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 held in Vienna, Austria, placed second in the competition on Saturday night, marking the second consecutive year that Israel finished as the runner-up.

The contest ended with a surprise victory by DARA from Bulgaria, who had not been considered among the favorites to win and was not ranked in most top-five predictions ahead of the event.

Bettan performed “Michelle,” a multilingual song in Hebrew, French, and English.

The singer faced intense hostility from anti-Israel activists throughout the competition because of Israel’s participation.

Despite the controversy, the song proved highly popular with audiences and finished third in the public telephone vote.

After his performance, Bettan thanked the audience in both Hebrew and English before adding in Hebrew, “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The people of Israel live.”)

An anti-Israel rally was held in Vienna the day before the competition’s final round. Bettan told Hebrew-language media outlets that he had practiced performing to the sound of booing in preparation for possible disruptions. Some audience members reportedly booed during the semifinal several days earlier, although none of the noise could be heard during the televised final broadcast.

Combining the votes from the professional juries representing participating countries and the public telephone vote, Bettan ultimately secured second place overall.

Israel’s participation in the competition came amid a campaign by several European countries that threatened to withdraw if Israel was permitted to compete.

Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland, and the Netherlands withdrew from the contest rather than send representatives to compete alongside an Israeli entrant.

Israel has won the Eurovision Song Contest four times — in 1978, 1979, 1998, and 2018.

Israel received 12 points — the highest score possible — from viewers in France, where Bettan’s parents lived before immigrating to Israel, as well as from Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, and Azerbaijan.

Last year, Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Nova Festival massacre, also finished in second place with her song “New Day Will Rise.”