President Isaac Herzog spoke early this morning (Sunday) with Yuval Rafael, and congratulated her on her great achievement at the Eurovision contest, where she placed second, and thanked her for the great pride she brought to the State of Israel.

President Herzog said during their conversation: “Dear and amazing Yuval, how wonderful. You truly succeeded. First of all, your performance was tremendous. It was perfect—exceptional. I was so moved. You are truly a daughter of Israel for all of us, breaking through the highest ceiling in the world—it’s simply incredible. Just think where you were 590 days ago.”

He added, “Your cry of ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ touched our hearts. Thank you for representing the State of Israel with such honor.”

Yuval Rafael responded, “It was the greatest honor in the world to be the voice of this country. It was the greatest honor and the greatest privilege in the world. And I will always remember that I was given this voice, and that I was given the chance to be the voice of this people.

“I want to thank you for the support you gave me—it strengthened me so much. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until everyone is home: our only and greatest victory is when all the hostages return home.”