Hannah Brown

Bettan has spent the time between the first semifinal and the final enjoying Vienna with his backup dancers and rehearsing for his Saturday night performance.

Rumors that Kanye West may perform in Israel after apologizing for past antisemitic remarks have sparked skepticism and backlash within the Israeli music industry.

Bettan gave a dynamic, confident performance of the catchy song, surrounded by five female dancers, and it was selected as one of the 10 songs out of 15 that will advance to the final. 

Bettan performed inside a rotating structure with dancer Lihi Freud, and the staging creates a dynamic visual effect using mirrors and poses.

The New York Times framed Israel’s Eurovision campaigning as suspicious soft power, despite acknowledging that no rules were broken and other countries engaged in similar promotion.

Twelve new films have been chosen for the Israeli competition. They include Soccer for the Soul, by Avida Livny, and Shalom, by Meital Zvieli.

Israel’s Noam Bettan speaks to The Jerusalem Post about the challenges he faced on the road to Eurovision.

Last year in Basel, a man got as close as he could to Yuval Raphael, the Israeli contestant, and mimed slitting her throat.

Managing director of Eurovision, Martin Green, confirmed on Saturday that he had issued a formal warning to KAN, Israel’s public broadcaster, over an advertising campaign.

TV Time: While the film was entertaining on every level, it also sparked a debate because of its central plot, in which Louise (Sarandon) kills a man who is raping Thelma (Davis).