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Israel was represented at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...
with the song "
Toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...
", written by
Doron Medalie Doron Medalie (; born 5 December 1977) is an Israeli songwriter, composer and artistic director. He co-wrote the song "Toy", which was performed by Netta Barzilai and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Biography Doron Medalie was raised in Ra ...
and Stav Beger, and performed by
Netta ''Netta'' is a genus of diving ducks. The name is derived from Greek ''Netta'' "duck". Unlike other diving ducks, the ''Netta'' species are reluctant to dive, and feed more like dabbling ducks. These are gregarious ducks, mainly found on fresh ...
. The Israeli participating broadcaster, the
Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster of Israel. It carries the blanket branding Kan in Hebrew () and Makan in Arabic (). Its news division, Kan News, is the third biggest brand in Israeli newscasting, after Ha ...
(IPBC/Kan), organised in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions, the reality singing competition to select its performer for the contest, while the song "Toy" was internally selected by a committee appointed by Kan. "Toy" went on to win the contest, marking Israel's fourth Eurovision win.


Background

Prior to the 2018 contest, the
Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station '' Kol Yi ...
(IBA) until 2017, and the
Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster of Israel. It carries the blanket branding Kan in Hebrew () and Makan in Arabic (). Its news division, Kan News, is the third biggest brand in Israeli newscasting, after Ha ...
(IPBC/Kan) in 2018, had participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
representing Israel forty times since IBA's first entry in 1973. They have won the contest on three occasions: in with the song "" performed by
Izhar Cohen Izhar Cohen (, ; born March 13, 1951) is an Israeli singer who won the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest. Biography Izhar Cohen was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and raised in Givatayim, to a family of singers of Yemenite-Jewish descent – Shlomo C ...
and the
Alphabeta "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (; bet-language language game for the word ''aní'', meaning "I" in Hebrew) is a song recorded by Israeli group Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, with music composed by Nurit Hirsh and Hebrew lyrics written by Ehud Manor. It in t ...
, in with the song "
Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...
" performed by
Milk and Honey Milk and Honey may refer to: Music * The Milk and Honey Band, an English band * Milk and Honey (album), ''Milk and Honey'' (album), a 1984 album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono * Milk & Honey (Crowder album), ''Milk & Honey'' (Crowder album), 2021 * M ...
, and in with the song "" performed by
Dana International Sharon Cohen (; born 2 February 1969), professionally known as Dana International (), is an Israeli Pop music, pop singer. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest ...
. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, Israel has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final seven times, including three top ten results in with "" performed by
Shiri Maimon Shiri Maimon (or Maymon; , ; born ) is an Israeli singer, television personality and actress, who rose to fame as the runner-up in the inaugural season of singing reality competition '' Kokhav Nolad''. She represented her native Israel in the ...
placing fourth, in with "The Fire in Your Eyes" by
Boaz Boaz (; Hebrew: בֹּעַז ''Bōʿaz''; ) is a biblical figure appearing in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible and in the genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament and also the name of a pillar in the portico of the historic Temple in Jeru ...
placing ninth, and in with " Golden Boy" by
Nadav Guedj Nadav Guedj (, ; born 2 November 1998) is an Israeli singer and actor who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he finished in 9th place. He is the winner of season two of ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (Israel's '' Rising Star''). Gue ...
placing ninth. Israel had failed to qualify to the final for four consecutive years between 2011 and 2014 prior to their qualification in 2015. In , "I Feel Alive" by
Imri Ziv Imri Ziv (, ; born 12 September 1991), known mononymously as Imri (stylised in all caps), is an Israeli singer and voice actor. After winning ''HaKokhav HaBa'', he represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with the song "I Fee ...
ended 23rd out of 26 entries in the final. The Israeli entry for the 2018 contest was selected through the reality singing competition ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), which was organised by Keshet and Tedy Productions. This was the fourth time that the Israeli entry was selected by IPBC/Kan through a collaboration with Keshet and Tedy Productions.


Before Eurovision


''HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion''

The singer who would perform the Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was selected through the reality singing competition ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), the original version of the international format '' Rising Star'', produced by Tedy Productions and
Keshet Media Group Keshet Media Group, also known as the Keshet company (), is an Israeli private mass media company headquartered in Tel Aviv. Its media and online news outlet Mako is one of the major Israeli ones. The company has operated Keshet Broadcasting, a ...
. had been used since 2015 to select the Israeli artist for Eurovision. The shows was hosted by
Assi Azar Assi Azar (; born 10 June 1979) is an Israeli television host and screenwriter. He is the creator of the romantic comedy TV series '' Beauty and the Baker'' (2013 - 2021) and co-creator of the new TV series, '' Metukim'' (2024 - present). Biogr ...
and Rotem Sela and featured a judging panel composed of Asaf Amdursky,
Keren Peles Keren Peles Toor (; born 11 March 1979) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician. Peles embarked her musical career in Israel in 2005 as a songwriter and later with her debut album ''If This Is Life (album), Im Ele Ha'Hayim'' (2006), and has ...
,
Harel Skaat Harel Skaat (; born 8 August 1981) sometimes known by the mononym Harel is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim" ("", "Words"). Skaat has been singing and performing in publi ...
(who represented ), and Static & Ben-El Tavori. The competition consisted of twenty shows, which commenced on 29 October 2017 and concluded on 13 February 2018. All shows in the competition were broadcast on Channel 2 and
Keshet 12 Keshet 12 () is an Israeli free-to-air television channel owned by Keshet Media Group. It launched on 1 November 2017 as one of two replacements for the outgoing Channel 2. History Israel's Channel 2 was operated by the Second Authority for ...
as well as online via ''mako.co.il''. Out of the selected 120 contestants ninety-nine were shown in the televised auditions where performers were required to achieve 70% of the votes during their performance in order to advance; each member of the judging panel could boost a performer's score by 10%. Following a change in the rules of the competition, the hosts of the shows could also save performers who did not manage to achieve 70% of the votes during the audition phase, thus the selected performers would also advance, regardless to their scores during the auditions. In the end, seventy contestants advanced to the next round instead of the original seventy-one, following one contestant's withdrawal from the competition. In the shortlisting round, the remaining seventy contestants were required to perform in front of the jury. The jury then selected twenty performers who qualified for the next stage of the competition. The twenty performers were reduced to twelve in heat 1 and 2, and then from twelve to ten in heat 3 and 4.


Auditions


= Audition 1

= The first audition was broadcast in two parts on 29 and 31 October 2017. Seven of the nine contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while one contestant who did not get enough votes to qualify was saved by the hosts. Among the contestants was
Chen Aharoni Chen Aharoni (; also known as Chen and also transliterated as Hen Aharoni; born in Holon, Israel on 12 April 1990) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, musician and television presenter. Career ''Kokhav Nolad'' (2007) He came into fame after taking ...
, who previously participated in the where he placed fourth with the song "Or".


= Audition 2

= The second audition was broadcast on 5 November 2017. Six of the eight contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes. Among the contestants was Rinat Bar who previously participated in the where she placed seventh with the song "Kmo chalom".


= Audition 3

= The third audition was broadcast on 12 November 2017. Five of the eight contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while one contestant who did not get enough votes to qualify was saved by the hosts. Among the contestants was Alon Sharr, the lead singer of the band The Choice who previously took part in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song " 1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) an ...
as a backing vocalist behind Imri. Noa Bell is the adopted daughter of Keren Peles, therefore Peles was not able to vote during her audition. Her vote was cast by Ben-El Tavori.


= Audition 4

= The fourth audition was broadcast in two parts on 19 and 20 November 2017. Eight of the eleven contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while one contestant who did not get enough votes to qualify was saved by the hosts. However, on 26 November 2017 it was confirmed that Liat Banai, who has originally qualified to the next phase, has withdrawn from the competition. Dori Halevi is a close friend of Ben-El Tavori, therefore Tavori was not able to vote during his audition.


= Audition 5

= The fifth audition was broadcast in two parts on 26 and 27 November 2017. Eight of the eleven contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while one contestant who did not get enough votes to qualify was saved by the hosts. Among the contestants was Keshet Ben Ze'ev, the nephew of
Izhar Cohen Izhar Cohen (, ; born March 13, 1951) is an Israeli singer who won the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest. Biography Izhar Cohen was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and raised in Givatayim, to a family of singers of Yemenite-Jewish descent – Shlomo C ...
who (together with
Alphabeta "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (; bet-language language game for the word ''aní'', meaning "I" in Hebrew) is a song recorded by Israeli group Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, with music composed by Nurit Hirsh and Hebrew lyrics written by Ehud Manor. It in t ...
) won Eurovision for Israel in 1978 and finished fifth .


= Audition 6

= The sixth audition was broadcast in two parts on 3 and 4 December 2017. Six of the eleven contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while one contestant who did not get enough votes to qualify was saved by jury members Static and Ben-El Tavori instead of the hosts following a temporary switch in the roles during the contestants' audition. Among the contestants was Joseph Guedj, a relative of
Nadav Guedj Nadav Guedj (, ; born 2 November 1998) is an Israeli singer and actor who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he finished in 9th place. He is the winner of season two of ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (Israel's '' Rising Star''). Gue ...
who represented Israel in 2015.


= Audition 7

= The seventh audition was broadcast in two parts on 10 and 11 December 2017. Six of the eleven contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while one contestant who did not get enough votes to qualify was saved by the hosts. Among the contestants was Almog Kapach who previously took part in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes (Måns Zelmerlöw song), Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organis ...
and 2017 as a backing vocalist behind
Hovi Star Hovav Sekulets (; born 19 November 1986), known by his stage name Hovi Star (), is an Israeli singer. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Made of Stars" by Doron Medalie. Biography Hovav Sekulets (aka Hovi ...
and IMRI and also participated in the previous edition of the competition as a member of the band Beatbox Element, finishing fourth.


= Audition 8

= The eighth audition was broadcast in two parts on 17 and 18 December 2017. Seven of the thirteen contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while two contestants who did not get enough votes to qualify were saved by the hosts. Zohar Raziel would have originally got eliminated, however the judges exceptionally gave her a second chance to perform another song where she eventually advanced to the next stage of the competition. Among the contestants was Mishéll who previously participated as Irina Rosenfeld in the where she placed second with the song "You Give Me Your Love".


= Audition 9

= The ninth audition was broadcast on 21 December 2017. Four of the eight contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while one contestant who did not get enough votes to qualify was saved by the hosts.


= Audition 10

= The tenth audition was broadcast in two parts on 24 and 25 December 2017. Three of the nine contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while two contestants who did not get enough votes to qualify were saved by the hosts.


Shortlisting round

The shortlisting round was broadcast in two parts on 28 and 31 December 2017. The remaining seventy contestants performed in front of the jury. Following the performances, the four-member jury selected twenty contestants to go through to the heats.


Elimination shows


= Heat 1

= The first heat was broadcast on 4 January 2018. Eight of the twenty qualified contestants were paired in four duels. From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next round while one contestant was saved by the jury at the end of the second part of the second heat. For the first time in the history of the competition, a guest judge also voted for the performances:
Ninet Tayeb Ninet Nati Tayeb (; born 21 October 1983), professionally known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and reality television judge on ''Rising Star (Israeli TV series), Rising Star: Israel''. She is reg ...
, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model and actress. Therefore, each judge could boost each performance by 8% instead of the original 10.


= Heat 2

= The second heat was broadcast in two parts on 7 and 8 January 2018. The remaining twelve of the twenty contestants were paired in six duels. From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next round while one contestant was saved by the jury at the end of the second part of the second heat.


= Heat 3

= The third heat was broadcast on 14 January 2018 and consisted of two rounds: in the first round six of the remaining twelve contestants were paired in three duels. From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next stage of the competition. In the second round the remaining three contestants would have had to perform one more song and the contestant with the lowest score would have got eliminated. However, following her performance Rinat Bar announced her withdrawal from the competition. Therefore, the remaining two contestants – Shay and Gilad and Riki Ben Ari – automatically qualified for the next stage without Riki Ben Ari performing.


= Heat 4

= The fourth heat was broadcast on 21 January 2018 and consisted of two rounds: in the first round six of the remaining twelve contestants were paired in three duels. From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next stage of the competition. In the second round the remaining three contestants had to perform one more song and the contestant with the lowest score got eliminated. For personal reasons one of the judges, Asaf Amdursky did not attend the fourth heat. To complement the jury panel,
Nadav Guedj Nadav Guedj (, ; born 2 November 1998) is an Israeli singer and actor who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he finished in 9th place. He is the winner of season two of ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (Israel's '' Rising Star''). Gue ...
, the winner of the second season and who represented Israel in 2015, was invited to vote.


= Heat 5

= The fifth heat was broadcast on 22 January 2018 and consisted of two rounds. In the first round the remaining ten contestants were paired in four thematical duels: in the first duel two duets were formed from four contestants. In the second duel the two contestants performed songs of their idols. In the third duel the contestants who have sung ballads before performed uptempo songs for the first time and in the fourth duel the two contestants performed in front of their relatives. From each duel the contestant or contestants with the higher score advanced to the next stage of the competition. In the end of the first round three contestants were saved by the judges and the remaining two contestants had to perform one more song in the second round. In the end the contestant with the lowest score got eliminated.


= Heat 6

= The sixth heat was broadcast in two parts on 28 and 29 January 2018. All the contestants performed behind the wall except for the first contestant Adva Omer who performed in front of the judges and the audience. In the end the contestant with the lowest score got eliminated.


= Quarter-final

= The quarter-final was broadcast in two parts on 4 and 7 February 2018 and consisted of two rounds: in the first round the remaining eight contestants were paired in four duels. From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next stage of the competition. In the second round the remaining four contestants were paired in two duels and had to perform one more song. The two contestants with the lower scores from each duel got eliminated. In the end of the first round the judges selected two contestants from the four first round qualifiers – Netta Barzilai and Riki Ben Ari – who got paired in a duel that determined the first finalist in the first part of the semi-final. In addition to the performances the winner of the previous season and representative of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, IMRI performed the 2017 Israeli entry "
I Feel Alive "I Feel Alive" is a song performed by Israeli singer Imri Ziv. The song Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. It was written by Dolev Ram and Penn Hazut. The song was released as a digi ...
".


= Semi-final

= The semi-final was broadcast in two sefond parts on 8 and 11 February 2018. In the first part on 8 February the two contestants who were selected by the judges in the quarter-final – Netta Barzilai and Riki Ben Ari – were paired in a duel that determined the first finalist. In addition to their performances Barzilai and Ben Ari performed "Na'im achshav" by and together with Elai Botner and The Outside Kids before the duel. The second part of the semi-final was broadcast on 11 February and consisted of two rounds: in the first round all the remaining five contestants performed behind the wall except for the first contestant Chen Aharoni who performed in front of the judges and the audience. In the end of the first round the contestant with the highest score qualified for the final. In the second round the remaining four contestants were paired in two duels and had to perform one more song. The two contestants with the higher scores from each duel qualified for the final.


= Final

= The final took place on 13 February 2018 and consisted of two rounds.


First round

In the first round the four finalists were paired in two duels. From each duel the contestant with the higher score advanced to the second round. After the last performance each jury member (with the exception of Harel Skaat) named one of the remaining two contestants. The contestant with the most votes advanced to the second round. In addition to the performances the four finalists performed a medley of the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...
winning song "
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
" by
Loreen Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui (born 16 October 1983), known professionally as Loreen (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, Representing Sweden, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in Eurovision Song Conte ...
and "
Can't Hold Us "Can't Hold Us" is a song written and performed by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring American singer Ray Dalton, originally released on August 16, 2011, as the second single from the duo's debut album '' The Heist'' (2012 ...
" by
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...
feat.
Ray Dalton Raymond Adrien Dalton (born May 10, 1990) is an American singer based in Seattle, Washington. He began his career as a gospel and R&B singer. Dalton gained prominence as the featured artist on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 2011 song "Can't Hold Us" ...
. The votes of the judges to save: * Asaf Amdursky – Netta Barzilai * Keren Peles – Netta Barzilai * Harel Skaat – ''did not vote'' * Static – Netta Barzilai * Ben El Tavori – Chen Aharoni Harel Skaat did not have to vote since it was already decided that Netta Barzilai would be saved from elimination.


Second round

In the second round, the remaining three contestants performed in front of the judges and the audience. During each performance the votes were cast only by the viewers through the official mobile application, without the scores appearing on screen. After the last performance each judge cast its votes by giving 8, 10 and 12 points to the three remaining contestants; 8 points to their third favourite and 12 points to their favourite. Additionally, four thematical jury groups were asked to vote by the same method. The members of the four jury groups were: * Group 1: Judges of ''
Kokhav Nolad ''Kokhav Nolad'' (; meaning "A Star Is Born") was an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists, based on the British ''Pop Idol'' model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav Nolad has become popular and ...
'' –
Gal Uchovsky Gal Uchovsky (; born September 27, 1958) is an Israeli screenwriter, producer, journalist, activist and Israeli TV personality. Early life Uchovsky was born in Hadera. His family moved to Vienna while his father was studying there. They returne ...
,
Margalit Tzan'ani Margalit "Margol" Tzan'ani (; born December 19, 1948) is an Israeli singer and television personality. Tzan'ani is famous for her repertoire of Israeli oriental music style with soul influences, as well as jazz, blues, rock, and pop. Biography ...
, Tzedi Tzarfati * Group 2: Winners of '' HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion'' that represented Israel in Eurovision in the past three years –
Nadav Guedj Nadav Guedj (, ; born 2 November 1998) is an Israeli singer and actor who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he finished in 9th place. He is the winner of season two of ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (Israel's '' Rising Star''). Gue ...
,
Hovi Star Hovav Sekulets (; born 19 November 1986), known by his stage name Hovi Star (), is an Israeli singer. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Made of Stars" by Doron Medalie. Biography Hovav Sekulets (aka Hovi ...
,
Imri Ziv Imri Ziv (, ; born 12 September 1991), known mononymously as Imri (stylised in all caps), is an Israeli singer and voice actor. After winning ''HaKokhav HaBa'', he represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with the song "I Fee ...
* Group 3: Judges of ''
Eyal Golan Is Calling You Eyal Golan (; born Eyal Bitton; 12 April 1971) is an Israeli singer who sings in the Mizrahi music pop fusion genre and considered one of the most successful singers in Israel. Golan reported the highest income of all singers in Israel in 2011. ...
'' – Adi Leon, Yaron Ilan, Yossi Gispan * Group 4: Composers of former Israeli Eurovision Song Contest entries –
Doron Medalie Doron Medalie (; born 5 December 1977) is an Israeli songwriter, composer and artistic director. He co-wrote the song "Toy", which was performed by Netta Barzilai and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Biography Doron Medalie was raised in Ra ...
,
Kobi Oshrat Kobi Oshrat (; born July 15, 1944) is an Israeli composer and conductor. He composed and conducted the winning entry at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest '' Hallelujah'' sung by the vocal ensemble Milk and Honey. Biography Yaakov (Kobi) Vent ...
,
Svika Pick Svika Pick (, born Henryk Pick, 3 October 1949 – 14 August 2022) was an Israeli pop singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality. Pick first gained traction on a national level after playing a lead part in an Israeli version of ...
In addition to the performances, the second round included guest performances of "Namaste" by the judges
Static & Ben El Tavori Static & Ben El Tavori () were an Israeli musical pop duo comprising the singers Liraz Russo (aka 'Static') and Ben El Tavori. Their musical producer was Yarden Peleg (aka 'Jordi'). Biography Static Liraz Russo (; born 8 December 1990), best kn ...
, and "Ulay nedaber" by the 2015 Israeli representative Nadav Guedj.


At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the " Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
(EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Israel was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 8 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Israel was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from and preceding the entry from .


Semi-final

Israel was an early favorite with the bookies, sitting in second place to win on the day of the first semi-final. Israel performed seventh in the first semi-final, following the entry from Lithuania and preceding the entry from Belarus. At the end of the night, Israel was one of the ten countries announced as qualifying for the grand final, their fourth qualification in a row since 2015. Following the semi-final, Netta joined the other new finalists in a press conference and a draw to see which half of the final she would perform in. Ultimately, Israel was drawn to perform in the second half of the final. It was later revealed that Israel won the first semi-final, scoring 283 points, 116 points from the televoting and 167 points from the juries.


Final

Israel performed twenty-second in the grand final, following Hungary and preceding the Netherlands. Following the jury vote, Israel was in third place behind Sweden in second and Austria first. However, neither Sweden nor Austria made it to the viewers' top ten, allowing Israel to both win the televote and the contest overall with a total of 529 points (Israel's highest-ever score). This marked Israel's fourth victory (after 1978, 1979, and 1998), tying them with the Netherlands as the 4th-most successful country in contest history (following France, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom, with five wins; Sweden, with six wins; and Ireland, with seven wins). It was the twentieth time Israel finished in the top ten (the last occasion being
Nadav Guedj Nadav Guedj (, ; born 2 November 1998) is an Israeli singer and actor who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he finished in 9th place. He is the winner of season two of ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (Israel's '' Rising Star''). Gue ...
and " Golden Boy," which finished 9th in 2015) and the eleventh they made the top five (the first time since 2005, when
Shiri Maimon Shiri Maimon (or Maymon; , ; born ) is an Israeli singer, television personality and actress, who rose to fame as the runner-up in the inaugural season of singing reality competition '' Kokhav Nolad''. She represented her native Israel in the ...
came 4th with "HaSheket SheNish'ar"). This meant Israel would host the 2019 contest and automatically qualify for the following year's final. Among these points were five top marks from the jury vote (awarded by Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, and San Marino) and eight top marks from the televote (awarded by Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Spain, Ukraine, and once again France and San Marino). Estonia was the only country that did not award any points to Israel in either jury vote or televote. Under the hybrid jury-televote system, Israel would have received twelve points from Australia, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Iceland, Moldova, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.


Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.


Points awarded to Israel


Points awarded by Israel


Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Israeli jury: * Aya Korem (jury chairperson)singer, songwriter (jury member in semi-final 1) * Eli Cohen (Eliko)radio DJ * Dafna Lustigmusic journalist, radio DJ, TV host * Yaakov Lamaimusical producer, arranger *
Gal Uchovsky Gal Uchovsky (; born September 27, 1958) is an Israeli screenwriter, producer, journalist, activist and Israeli TV personality. Early life Uchovsky was born in Hadera. His family moved to Vienna while his father was studying there. They returne ...
music journalist * Hagai Uzanmusic journalist, producer, personal artist manager (jury member in the final)


Notes and references


Notes


References

{{Netta Barzilai
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...