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The Israeli song that almost won Eurovision was about far more than the breakup of a love affair

JL;DR SUMMARY Noam Bettan, Israel's Eurovision 2026 candidate, captured the audience with a poignant trilingual song "Michelle," sung in Hebrew, French, and English. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryHebrewCultural IdentityEnglishEurovisionMultilingualismFrenchNoam Bettan

Places mentioned

Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv District, Israel
"he mentioned walking through the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentin."
Raanana, Tel Aviv District, Israel
"Noam Bettan was born in Israel and grew up in Raanana, which is home to many English speakers."
Israel
"Noam Bettan, Israels Eurovision candidate who took second place in the competition, sang in three languages, and chose to start his performance in Hebrew."
Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
"Bettans parents immigrated to Israel from Grenoble, France, and before that, the Bettans lived in Algeria."
Bulgaria
"Meanwhile, the winner from Bulgaria sang entirely in English."
Algeria
"Bettans parents immigrated to Israel from Grenoble, France, and before that, the Bettans lived in Algeria."
Austria
"Last years winner, Austrias JJ, performed Wasted Love entirely in English."
Spain
"In the controversy over this years Eurovision, in which Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland, all quit to protest Israels inclusion,"
Netherlands
"In the controversy over this years Eurovision, in which Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland, all quit to protest Israels inclusion,"
Ireland
"In the controversy over this years Eurovision, in which Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland, all quit to protest Israels inclusion,"
Slovenia
"In the controversy over this years Eurovision, in which Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland, all quit to protest Israels inclusion,"
Iceland
"In the controversy over this years Eurovision, in which Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland, all quit to protest Israels inclusion."

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Cairo Item ID 82514
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2026-05-19 05:31:05 UTC
Curated 2026-05-19 08:30:33 UTC