Israel’s Noam Bettan qualified on Tuesday night for the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, after his semifinal performance garnered him enough points to advance.

Bettan performed “Michelle” in French, Hebrew and English over the sounds of “stop the genocide” chanting in the Wiener Stadthalle in the Austrian capital, which could be heard on the live broadcast at the start of the song. Austrian public broadcaster ORF had said it would not use anti-booing technology during the show.

According to the local Österreich newspaper, two people who were interrupting the broadcast were physically removed from the arena by security.

“I heard the boos, but quickly afterward, I heard calls from people on our side who were making noise and lifting me up,” Bettan said in a video message shortly after the performance. “And it immediately lifted my spirits and warmed my heart. It filled me up, it gave me strength.”

Bettan told The Times of Israel in an interview last month that had been practicing to the sounds of booing in order to be prepared.

“Thank you so much, toda raba,” he said on stage after completing the song. “Thank you Europe, I love you.”

יש מי שישמע ???????????? נועם בתן בביצוע המלא של #Michelle מחצי גמר אירוויזיון 2026 בוינה ???????? pic.twitter.com/Kvfhdk8fHN — כאן (@kann) May 12, 2026

יש מי שישמע ???????????? נועם בתן בביצוע המלא של #Michelle מחצי גמר אירוויזיון 2026 בוינה ???????? pic.twitter.com/Kvfhdk8fHN

— כאן (@kann) May 12, 2026

Along with Israel, Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Croatia, Serbia, Lithuania and Poland also advanced to Saturday’s grand final. That means Portugal, Georgia, Montenegro, Estonia and San Marino have been cut from the competition.

The results were decided by a combination of jury votes........

© The Times of Israel