Israel's first appearance in the contest in 1973 was successful, with "Ey Sham" performed byIlanit finishing fourth. Israel then achieved victories in1978 and1979, with "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" byIzhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, and "Hallelujah" byMilk and Honey. In1980, the Israeli broadcaster declined to host the contest for a second consecutive year due to financial reasons. Because the contest date inthe Hague conflicted withYom HaZikaron, Israel did not participate. This remains the only instance of a winning country not competing the following year. The country's best results in the 1980s were second-place finishes for "Hora" byAvi Toledano in1982 and "Chai" byOfra Haza in1983. Israel achieved its third victory in1998, with "Diva" byDana International. To date, Israel holds the record for the most participations and the most wins in the contest without finishing last, but it has placed second-to-last in the final thrice—1986,1993, and2006—and receivednul points from the juries in 2019.
Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Israel has failed to reach the final seven times. In2005, "HaSheket SheNish'ar" byShiri Maimon gave the country its tenth top-five result, finishing fourth. After failing to qualify for the final for four consecutive years (2011–14), Israel reached the final in2015 with "Golden Boy" byNadav Guedj finishing ninth, and the country has participated in the final every year since with the exception of2022, while also recording a fourth win in2018 with "Toy" byNetta.
Israel's participation has been subject to numerous controversies mostly due to theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict and the widerArab–Israeli conflict, and since theGaza war which began in October 2023, these tensions have spilled over into the contest.
To date, there have been four Israeli victories in the contest.Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta won in Paris in1978 with "A-Ba-Ni-Bi". On home ground inJerusalemthe following year, Israel won again, this time with "Hallelujah" performed byMilk and Honey. Unusually, Israel did not defend the title in1980[1] (see below). The third victory came almost 20 years later inBirmingham in1998, whenDana International took top honours with the song "Diva". It took a 20-year wait for Israel to record its fourth victory at the2018 contest inLisbon, with the song "Toy" byNetta, earning Israel its highest-ever score of 529 points.
Israel's earliest selections were picked by the IBA. The first singer to represent the country wasIlanit, who finished 4th in1973. In 1972, whileIlanit was in Germany recording as part of the duo Ilan and Ilanit with her partner Shlomo Tzach, the duo received an offer to representGermany inthat year's contest. Since Israel was eligible to participate, they approached the IBA with a proposal that Ilanit would represent Israel. However, the registration period was over by then and Ilanit was told she could represent Israel in 1973.[2][3] After she was sent again four years later, it was decided that henceforth the winner of the Hebrew Song Festival would represent Israel. The 1978 and 1979 Israeli Eurovision winners were selected by this method. From 1981, the selection process took place via theKdam Eurovision with the exception of 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002, when the IBA selected its representatives internally.
After winning the contest in 1978 and 1979, the IBA was financially and logistically unable to organise the event for a second consecutive year. The Netherlands agreed to host the 1980 contest in Israel's place. The date chosen for that year's contest coincided withYom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day, so Israel could not compete. This made Israel the only country to date unable to defend its title. The 1980 winning song "Pizmon Chozer" byThe Brothers & the Sisters never had an opportunity to compete.
In 1984, Israel again refrained from participating due to the same date conflict. It was rumoured that Ilanit and the song "Balalaika" would have been its representative that year, but this was denied by Shlomo Zach, the producer of the song.[4][better source needed]
Israel's entries have had a mixed reception.Avi Toledano (1982) andOfra Haza (1983) scored well with big revivalist numbers, but the all-singing, all-dancing style became less popular later in the decade and Israel's1986 entry, "Yavo Yom" byMoti Giladi and Sarai Tzuriel, came in 19th.
In1987, Israel finished 8th with "Shir Habatlanim" by the satiric duo Lazy Bums. Then-Israeli Minister of Culture,Yitzhak Navon, said he would resign if the song went on to represent Israel at the contest; this ultimately did not occur.
In1990,Rita's "Shara Barkhovot" was not well received, but in1991,Orna and Moshe Datz finished third, Israel's best result since 1983. Israel also had a 5th-place finish byEden when it hosted the1999 contest.Ping-Pong's disco effort in2000 failed, though the group was noted for their optimistic lyrics and message of reconciliation and peace. They wavedSyrian flags at the end of their performance, angering some Israelis.
In2004,David D'Or came 11th in the semi-final with "Leha'amin", leaving Israel out of the final for the first time since 1997.Shiri Maimon with "HaSheket SheNish'ar" in2005 brought Israel back to the top five, and ensured Israel a place in the2006 final, where it was represented by singerEddie Butler, who had finished 5th as part of Eden in 1999; however, his performance of the song "Together We Are One" finished 23rd, with only four points.
IBA's Eurovision committee choseTeapacks to represent Israel in2007. Their humorous entry "Push the Button" finished 24th out of 28 in the semi-final and did not advance to the final. As a result, Israel had to compete in the2008 semi-final, from which it advanzed to the final, whereBoaz and "The Fire in Your Eyes" finished ninth. In2009, for the first time, an Arab citizen of Israel represented the country:Mira Awad performed "There Must Be Another Way" alongside Jewish-Israeli singerNoa in Moscow. Israel was represented in 2010 byHarel Skaat, who came 14th in the final with "Milim".
Israel's participations from 2011 to 2014 were less successful, as former Eurovision winnerDana International inDüsseldorf, the bandIzabo inBaku,Moran Mazor inMalmö, andMei Finegold inCopenhagen all failed to qualify for the final. The 2014 non-qualification led to Kdam Eurovision being discontinued, and the IBA later partnered withKeshet to use the existing reality singing competitionHaKokhav HaBa to select the Israeli artist—a method that has mostly continued since—though the song selection has gone through various formats. In 2015,Nadav Guedj brought Israel back to the final with "Golden Boy", the first Israeli entry without a Hebrew lyric. Before Netta's win, Israel also managed to qualify in 2016 withHovi Star and "Made of Stars", which finished 14th, and in 2017 withImri Ziv and "I Feel Alive", which finished 23rd. In 2019, as hosts withKobi Marimi and his song "Home", Israel was pre-qualified for the final and finished 23rd, making it the fourth time since 2015 that the host country ranked in the bottom five.
In 2020,Eden Alene was chosen to represent the country with "Feker Libi". After the 2020 contest was cancelled, she was retained as the Israeli representative for2021, this time with "Set Me Free", which finished 17th in the final. The song features aB6 whistle note, the highest note in the contest's history.Michael Ben David, selected throughThe X Factor Israel, represented Israel in 2022 with "I.M," but failed to qualify for the final.[5] Internally-selectedNoa Kirel finished third in 2023 with "Unicorn",Eden Golan placed fifth in 2024 with "Hurricane", andYuval Raphael finished second in 2025 with "New Day Will Rise".
Until 2018, Israel only had a television commentator once, in 1979. In most cases, the IBA opted instead to simply broadcast the transmission without commentary and with Hebrew subtitles. Between 2013 and 2017, it also aired the contest withArabic subtitles onChannel 33. In both 1984 and 1997, which Israel also had to miss due to the holiday, the IBA aired the show on delay, and there was no radio broadcast. It also typically provided radio commentary beginning in the early 1980s, unless the country was not participating that year (with the exception of 2000). The IBA did not provide commentary until 2013, when it resumed radio broadcasting. In 2018, the IBA's successor,Kan, employed television commentators for the contest, which was a first for the country since 1979. The Israeli transmission was also shown internationally via theIsraeli Network in 2003 and 2004.[23]
Israel's participation in the contest has resulted in several controversial moments in the past, with the country's first appearancein 1973, less than a year after theMunich massacre, resulting in an increased security presence at the venue inLuxembourg City.[59][60][61][62] Its first winin 1978 proved controversial forArab states broadcasting the contest which would typically cut toadvertisements when Israel performed due to a lack ofrecognition of the country, and when it became apparent Israel would win, many of these broadcasters cut the feed before the end of the voting.[63][64][65] Broadcasters from Arab states which are eligible to compete have largely not participated, withMorocco the only Arab state to have entered Eurovision, competing only once, in1980 when Israel was absent.[66][67]
Israel's participation has been criticised by those who oppose currentgovernment policies in the state as well as on theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, with calls raised by various political groups for a boycott ahead of the2019 contest inTel Aviv, including proponents of theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in response to the country's policies towardsPalestinians in theWest Bank andGaza, as well as groups who take issue with perceivedpinkwashing in Israel.[68][69] Others campaigned against a boycott, asserting that any cultural boycott would be antithetical to advancing peace in the region.[70][71]
Following the outbreak of theGaza war in October 2023, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict once again impacted the contest, withrenewed calls for Israel's exclusion ahead of the2024 event.[72] "Hurricane", Israel's entry for that year's contest, was accepted by the EBU,[73][74] although it was required to undergo rewrites as the EBU objected to the political nature of the original lyrics, which made reference to the7 October attacks.[75][76][77] Israel's second-place finish and win in the public vote in2025 was contested by several participating countries.[78][79][80][81] After Israel was permitted to compete in2026,Iceland,Ireland, theNetherlands,Slovenia, andSpain announced they would not participate in protest.[82][83]Nemo, who won forSwitzerland in 2024, returned their trophy in protest of Israel's continued inclusion.[84]
^In order to reduce the number of participating countries at the 1996 event aqualifying round was held among all countries except the hosts. Israel failed to progress from this round; entries which failed to progress have subsequently been discounted by the EBU and do not feature as part of the countries' list of appearances.
^According to thethen-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
^ללכת שבי אחריה Yuval Abramovich, 16 April 2013, Israel HaYom(in Hebrew)
^"1984: עוד יישמע שירי בארץ ישראל" [1984: My song will be heard in the land of Israel].Israel Hayom (in Hebrew). 22 April 2019. Retrieved24 January 2025.
^"כל מה שצריך לדעת כדי לכתוב את שיר האירוויזיון" [Everything you need to know to submit a Eurovision song].Israel Hayom (in Hebrew). 21 December 2025. Retrieved21 December 2025.השיר שייצג את ישראל בתחרות האירוויזיון ייחשף במשדר מיוחד שישודר בכאן 11, בכאן BOX, בפלטפורמות הדיגיטל וברדיו של כאן במהלך חודש מרץ הקרוב, לאחר שייבחר הנציג הישראלי בתוכנית "הכוכב הבא לאירוויזיון", שמשודרת בימים אלה בקשת. [The song that will represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest will be revealed in a special broadcast that will be broadcast on Kan 11, Kan Box, on Kan's digital platforms and radio during the month of March, after the Israeli representative is chosen on the program "The Next Star for Eurovision", which is currently airing on Keshet.]
^Roxburgh, Gordon (2014).Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn:Telos Publishing. pp. 142–168.ISBN978-1-84583-093-9.
^Roxburgh, Gordon (2016).Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn:Telos Publishing.ISBN978-1-84583-118-9.
^Roxburgh, Gordon (2014).Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing.ISBN978-1-84583-093-9.