Israel first debuted in 1973, and has appeared in Eurovision 39 times. Since debuting, the nation has won an impressive 3 times, with two consecutive wins in 1978 and 1979, and then again in 1998. Today, we’re going to look at the performances between 2006 and 2015 to decide which is the best of the bunch!
Let’s begin with 2006, where Eddie Butler automatically was qualified into the final, as Israel was in the top 11 the previous year. The song was called Together We Are One, and was sung in both Hebrew and English. The song failed to make an impact, ending up in 23rd place in the final, with only 4 points.
The following year, the act was a band called Teapacks, who ambitiously sung in English, Hebrew and French. The song was called Push the Button, and the tongue in cheek attempt at Eurovision, although entertaining, failed to qualify to the final, ending up in 24th place with 17 points.
The next year, Bo’az Ma’uda amazed audiences with his angelic voice in the song The Fire In Your Eyes. The song was mostly Hebrew with some English, but ended up in a very respectable 9th place with 124 points.
In 2009, the duo of Noa and Mira Awad took the stage with the song about peace, titled There Must Be Another Way. The song combined English, Hebrew and Arabic, which was the first time Eurovision had heard Arabic as part of the Israeli act. The song did reach the final, and ended up in 16th place with 53 points.
Harel Skaat was the next star to take the stage, and it was the public who choose the song for him to sing at the 2010 edition of Eurovision. The song was totally in Hebrew and called Milim. The song was an early favourite, however on the night only reached 14th in the final. Still, not a bad result at all!
In 2011, Dana International returned to the Eurovision stage. Dana was Israel’s 3rd winner, and was back to try take the title once again. The song this time around was called Ding Dong, sung in a mix of English and Hebrew. The song however failed to qualify, and ended up at 15th place in the semi-final.
In 2012, the group Izabo was internally selected to represent the country. The song that was presented was called Time, and again a mix of English and Hebrew. For the second year in a row, Israel was unsuccessful at reaching the final, however inched slightly closer at 14th spot in the semi.
The following year, Moran Mazor was chosen to represent the country with the song Rak Bishvilo. With an interesting outfit choice, and a vocally competent performance, it was a shock not to see Israel back in the final again. Moran ended up in 14th place with 40 points.
In 2014, Israel was once again fighting to be back in the final. They chose the song Same Heart through a national final, and it would be sung by Mei Finegold. The song was a favourite amongst fans, however on the night failed to deliver, reaching 14th place once again, this time with only 19 points in the semi-final.
Finally, in 2015, the luck of Israel turned. Through a national final, the young 16 year old Nadav Guedj was chosen as the winner, and then the song Golden Boy was released. The song was a party hit, and the energy brought gave Israel a spot in the final – finally! It reached 9th place in the final with 97 points.
Out of the 10 acts we’ve just discussed, which is your favourite? Make sure you vote in our poll, and then tell us down below which is your favourite and why!