(JNS) Israeli singer Noam Bettan finished in second place at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday night, earning praise from Israeli leaders after a performance that drew strong public support despite anti-Israel protests and boycott campaigns surrounding the competition.
Bulgaria’s DARA won the contest with the song “Bangaranga,” while Romania came in third.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog personally congratulated Bettan after the results were announced.
“You have incredible composure on stage. Thank you so much. You brought honor to the people of Israel,” Herzog told the singer in a call.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Bettan in a statement released after the final.
“Noam, you are a source of pride for Israel,” Netanyahu said. “The second-place finish, for the second consecutive year, is a tremendous source of pride. But beyond the achievement itself, Noam brought talent, emotion and inspiring Israeli representation to the stage. I am very proud of him, and he is a great source of pride for Israel.”
The prime minister also thanked Israel’s Kan public broadcaster “for the production and execution.”
Bettan performed “Michelle,” a trilingual pop song in English, French and Hebrew, before an estimated global audience of more than 160 million viewers. He concluded the performance with the phrase “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The People of Israel Live”), despite scattered boos and “Free Palestine” heckling.
Israel surged from eighth place to second after receiving a massive public vote tally, prompting audible boos inside the arena when the results were announced. Five countries—Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands—boycotted this year’s competition over Israel’s participation.
The contest was also marked by controversy surrounding Israel’s promotional campaign. Organizers issued a formal warning to Israel’s Kan broadcaster over social media posts encouraging support for Bettan after critics claimed Israel’s campaigning violated Eurovision guidelines.
In response, Kan said it complied with all contest rules and removed the posts immediately. Israeli media reported that Eurovision organizers declined to use anti-booing audio technology during Bettan’s performance, despite its use in previous years. Bettan had reportedly rehearsed in advance with simulated crowd boos to prepare for possible disruptions.
Despite the tensions, Bettan’s polished performance received strong support from viewers across Europe and beyond. Israel received 123 points from the professional juries, placing eighth in that category, and 220 points from viewers worldwide, giving Bettan the second-highest public vote total of the night and 343 points overall.
In a significant shift from previous years, 22 of the 34 national juries awarded points to Israel, including Poland’s top “douze points.” Other countries giving jury points to Bettan included France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
The stronger jury showing marked a significant improvement over Israel’s recent Eurovision performances. In 2025, Yuval Raphael received only 60 jury points despite finishing second overall, while Eden Golan received just 52 jury points in 2024.
“It was crazy. It was fun,” Bettan told Kan after leaving the stage. “I love you, Am Yisrael Chai!”
Bettan, 28, is the son of French immigrants to Israel and was raised in Ra’anana. A professional performer for nearly a decade, he combines a polished pop style with a more traditional side, and was photographed in Vienna praying and putting on tefillin ahead of the Eurovision final.
Israel has now finished second in Eurovision for the second consecutive year. The Jewish state first joined Eurovision in 1973 and has won the competition four times—in 1978, 1979, 1998 and 2018.
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