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Israel joined the Eurovision family in 1973. Despite being a Middle Eastern nation, the nation is a member of the European Broadcasting Union and as such is allowed to participate in the contest. Since their debut, they've only missed five contests: three due to the observance of their national holiday, one due to relegation, and failing to qualify for the 1996 contest via the audio-only pre-qualifying round.

Their first few years in the contest saw three top 10 finishes - fourth in its debut in 1973, seventh in 1974 and sixth in 1976. Israel then scored back-to-back wins in 1978 and 1979: Izhar Cohen and Alpha Beta won in Paris with the song A-Ba-Ni-Bi, and Gali Atari and Milk and Honey defended the title on home ground in Jerusalem with Hallelujah.

In 1998 in Birmingham, history was made by Israel when Dana International became the first transgender artist to win the contest.

With the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Israel has managed to qualify for the final 11 times.

Israel was one of the few countries which had never performed any of their entries entirely in English, although 14 of their entries partially included lyrics in said language. It was not until 2015 when Nadav Guedj sang his entry without a single word in Hebrew. He helped Israel qualify for the final for the first time since 2010. Since then, most entries from Israel are usually in English with some Hebrew lyrics.

On 9 May 2017, just before the start of the first semifinal, IBA shut down its operations with its replacement, IPBC (KAN), starting operations on 15 May 2017. On 24 May 2017, IPBC filed for membership. On 2 October 2017, the EBU granted IPBC temporary membership as their application process went on, allowing Israel to participate in the 2018 contest, which they eventually went on to win. On 7 December 2018, KAN was granted full membership by the EBU.

Gallery[]

Participants[]

Year Artist Song Language Place Points Semi Points
1973 Ilanit Ey Sham Hebrew 4 97 No Semi Finals
1974 Kavaret Natati La Khayay 7 11
1975 Shlomo Artzi At Va'ani 11 40
1976 Chocolate Menta Mastik Emor Shalom 6 77
1977 Ilanit Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim 11 49
1978 Izhar Cohen & Alphabeta A-Ba-Ni-Bi 1 157
1979 Milk and Honey Hallelujah 1 125
1980 Ha'achim ve Ha'achayot Pizmon Chozer Withdrew from competition
1981 Hakol Over Habibi Halayla 7 56 No Semi Finals
1982 Avi Toledano Hora 2 100
1983 Ofra Haza Hi 2 136
1984 Ilanit Balalaika Withdrew from competition
1985 Izhar Cohen Olé, Olé 5 93 No Semi Finals
1986 Moti Giladi & Sarai Tzuriel Yavo Yom 19 7
1987 Lazy Bums Shir Habatlanim 8 73
1988 Yardena Arazi Ben Adam 7 85
1989 Gili and Galit Derech Hamelech 12 50
1990 Rita Shara Barkhovot 18 16
1991 Duo Datz Kan 3 139
1992 Dafna Dekel Ze Rak Sport 6 85
1993 The Shiru Group Shiru Hebrew, English 24 4 Participated in 1992
1994 Relegated from participating
1995 Liora Amen Hebrew 8 81 No Semi Final
1996 Galit Bell Shalom Olam -- -- 28 12
1997 Did not participate
1998 Dana International Diva Hebrew 1 172 No Semi Finals
1999 Eden Happy Birthday Hebrew, English 5 93
2000 PingPong Be Happy 22 7
2001 Tal Sondak En Davar Hebrew 16 25
2002 Sarit Hadad Light A Candle Hebrew, English 12 37
2003 Lior Narkis Words For Love 19 17
2004 David D'Or To Believe -- -- 11 57
2005 Shiri Maimon HaSheket SheNish'ar 4 154 7 158
2006 Eddie Butler Together We Are One 23 4 Top 11 in 2005
2007 Teapacks Push the Button English, French, Hebrew -- -- 24 17
2008 Boaz Ma'uda The Fire In Your Eyes Hebrew, English 9 124 5 104
2009 Noa & Mira Awad There Must Be Another Way English, Hebrew, Arabic 16 53 7 75
2010 Harel Skaat Milim Hebrew 14 71 8 71
2011 Dana International Ding Dong Hebrew, English -- -- 15 38
2012 Izabo Time -- -- 13 33
2013 Moran Mazor Rak Bishvilo Hebrew -- -- 14 40
2014 Mei Finegold Same Heart Hebrew, English -- -- 14 19
2015 Nadav Guedj Golden Boy English 9 97 3 151
2016 Hovi Star Made of Stars 14 135 7 147
2017 IMRI I Feel Alive 23 39 3 207
2018 Netta Toy 1 529 1 283
2019 Kobi Marimi Home 23 35 Host of 2019
2020 Eden Alene Feker Libi English, Amharic, Hebrew, Arabic Contest cancelled
2021 Set Me Free English, Hebrew 17 93 5 192
2022 Michael Ben David I.M English -- -- 13 61
2023 Noa Kirel Unicorn English, Hebrew 3 362 3 127
2024 Eden Golan Hurricane

Videos[]

Eurovision Song Contest
Editions
195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Countries
AlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroMoroccoThe NetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUkraineYugoslavia
Winning Songs
RefrainNet Als ToenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de Cire, Poupée de SonMerci, ChériePuppet on a StringLa, La, LaBoom Bang-a-BangVivo CantandoUn jour, un enfantDe TroubadourAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès ToiTu Te ReconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses For MeL'Oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggiloo DiggileyLa Det SwingeJ'aime La VieHold Me NowNe Partez Pas Sans MoiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me To Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEveryway That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
Specials
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision's Greatest HitsEurope Shine a Light
Aspects of Eurovision
CommentatorEuroClubEurovision VillageExecutive SupervisorFlag ParadeGrand PrixGreen RoomHead of DelegationInterval ActNational FinalNational JuryOfficial RulesOpening CeremonyPre-PartiesPre-Song PostcardsReference GroupRest of the World VoteRunning Order DrawSemi-FinalsScoreboardSpokespersonTelevotingVoting Systems
Miscellaneous
Big FiveCurse of 43Curse of Number TwoCurse of GreenDouze Points!ESCRadio AwardsESC Top 250Eurovision AgainEurovision National BroadcastersEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaFounding SevenLGBT visibilityLynda WoodruffMarcel Bezençon AwardsNul PointsOGAERecordsStand-insThe Reorder BoardTie SituationTop Scoring SongsVoting DiasporaWinner's CurseWithdrawn SongsYou're a Vision Award
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