- May 13, 2026
- 3:42 pm
- Ukraine
After the Eurovision 2026 semi-final on May 12, 2026, a noticeable wave of Ukrainian support for Israel’s representative Noam Bettan appeared on social media. Ukrainian users are writing warm comments after his performance with the song “Michelle”, calling the number one of the strongest this year and specifically noting the artist’s live vocals.
This is no longer just a reaction to the contest song. For the Israeli audience, another layer is important here: Ukrainians, who themselves live in a reality of war, pressure, and constant struggle for the right to be heard, saw human resilience in the Israeli performance.
Ukrainians write to Israel: “Ukraine is with you”
After the semi-final, comments from Ukrainian users began to appear en masse on social media. People call Noam Bettan’s performance one of the strongest in the contest, specifically noting his live vocals and writing words of support to Israel.
Among such comments are phrases:
“Ukraine is with you 🇺🇦”
“The best voice of Eurovision this year”
“My heart this year is with the people of Israel”
“He sang live even better than in the recording”
It is this simplicity that makes the reaction strong. Not long political statements, not official formulas, not diplomatic language — but short human remarks, in which there is recognition of the pain, pressure, and loneliness that both Israel and Ukraine go through.
For Israel, such support is especially noticeable against the backdrop of the current Eurovision. Around the country’s participation, there were again boycotts, accusations, and attempts to turn the music contest into a platform for political pressure.
Why the Ukrainian reaction sounded so warm
The Ukrainian audience understands well what public pressure is. When a country has been facing Russian aggression, propaganda, attempts to erase its voice and portray the victim as guilty for years, the reaction to someone else’s vulnerability becomes different.
Therefore, the support for Noam Bettan does not look like a random flash of sympathy. Ukrainians saw an artist who went on stage, heard the hostile noise, but continued to sing and did not lose composure.
In this moment, music became a language that turned out to be stronger than the noise around it.
Eurovision 2026 became a stage not only for the song but also for solidarity
Noam Bettan represents Israel with the song “Michelle”. After the semi-final, he advanced further, and the performance itself became a topic of discussion not only because of the music but also because of the audience’s reaction.
For many, the main thing was not just advancing to the next stage. More important was how exactly the Israeli artist endured the performance and how people outside Israel reacted to it.
Ukrainian comments on social media showed that sometimes a connection arises between societies that cannot be built only by official visits or politicians’ statements. It is born in simple situations: a person sings on stage, another person in another country sees the pressure on him and writes: we are with you.
NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this story in this context: as a small but important sign of living relationships between Ukrainians and Israelis. Not everything in these relationships is always simple at the political level, but on a human level, the connection often turns out to be much more honest and warmer.
Music has once again become a place where people support each other
Eurovision has long ceased to be just a vocal contest. Here, they have long argued about politics, symbols, boycotts, national reputation, and public pressure.
But sometimes even in such an environment, a moment appears that returns the conversation to the person. Not to slogans. Not to campaigns. Not to someone else’s hatred.
To a person with a microphone who goes out and sings.
And to people in Ukraine who after this write words of support to Israel.
That is why this wave of comments on social media became noticeable. It reminded us that human relationships between Ukrainians and Israelis are much stronger than political noise. They are not based on beautiful phrases, but on the ability to see another in a difficult moment — and not remain silent.
The Eurovision final will show what the contest result for Noam Bettan will be. But already now we can say something else: his performance was heard in Ukraine. And they responded as people who themselves know the price of resilience.