Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Participating broadcaster	Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan)
Country	Israel
Selection process	Artist:HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion Song: Internal selection
Selection date	Artist: 12 February 2019 Song: 10 March 2019
Competing entry
Song	"Home"
Artist	Kobi Marimi
Songwriters	Ohad Shragai Inbar Weitzman
Placement
Final result	23rd, 35 points
Participation chronology
◄2018 • 2019 •2020►

Israel was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Home", written by Ohad Shragai and Inbar Weitzman, and performed byKobi Marimi. The Israeli participating broadcaster, theIsraeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), organised in collaboration with the commercial broadcasterKeshet and Tedy Productions the reality singing competitionHaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion ("The Next Star for Eurovision") to select its performer for the contest, while the song "Home" was internally selected. In addition, Kan was also the host broadcaster and staged the event atExpo Tel Aviv inTel Aviv, after winning theprevious edition with the song "Toy" performed byNetta.

Prior to the 2019 contest, theIsrael Broadcasting Authority (IBA) until 2017, and theIsraeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) in 2018, had participated in theEurovision Song Contest representing Israel forty-one times since IBA's first entry in 1973.^[1] They had won the contest on four occasions: in1978 with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" performed byIzhar Cohen and theAlphabeta, in1979 with the song "Hallelujah" performed byMilk and Honey, in1998 with the song "Diva" performed byDana International, and in2018 with the song "Toy" performed byNetta Barzilai. Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, they have failed to reach the final six times. In2005, "Hasheket Shenish'ar" performed byShiri Maimon gave them their tenth top five result, finishing fourth. Having failed to qualify for the final for four consecutive years (2011–14), they reached the final for the first time in five years, with "Golden Boy" byNadav Guedj finishing ninth in2015, and the country had participated in the final every year since.

The Israeli entry for the 2019 contest was selected through the reality singing competitionHaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), which was organised by Kan in collaboration with the commercial broadcasterKeshet and Tedy Productions. This was the fifth time that the Israeli entry was selected through a collaboration between these three companies.

The singer who would perform the Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was selected through the reality singing competitionHaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), the original version of the international formatRising Star produced by Tedy Productions andKeshet Media Group.HaKokhav HaBa had been used since 2015 to select the Israeli artist for Eurovision. The shows were hosted byAssi Azar and Rotem Sela and featured a judging panel composed ofAsaf Amdursky,Keren Peles,Shiri Maimon (2005 Israeli Eurovision entrant),Harel Skaat (2010 Israeli Eurovision entrant) andStatic & Ben-El Tavori.

The competition commenced on 24 November 2018 and concluded on 12 February 2019. All shows in the competition were broadcast onKeshet 12 as well as online viamako.co.il.

In addition, three showcase programs were broadcast on Kan to determine the song that would represent Israel in 2019. Kan also held an additional show to select one singer to go through to the final of HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion.^[2]

The auditions were broadcast between 24 November 2018 and 1 January 2019. 59 of the 105 contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while 9 contestants who did not get enough votes to qualify were saved by the hosts.

Among the contestants were Danielle Mazuz, who previously took part in theEurovision Song Contest 2018 as a backing vocalist and dancer behindNetta, andMaya Bouskilla who was a candidate to represent Israel in theEurovision Song Contest 2009,2011 and2012.

On 2 January 2019 one of the originally advanced contestants,Elkana Marziano announced that he would withdraw from the competition.^[3]

Audition 1 – 24 November 2018^[4]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Danielle Mazuz	"Happy"						—	—	90%	Advanced
2	Ofri Calfon	"Le'esof"						—	—	93%	Advanced
3	Yevgeny Morozov	"Shnei meshuga'im"						—	—	53%	Eliminated
4	Shachar Adawi	"Wikipedia"						—	—	89%	Advanced
5	Hila Leder	"Ex's & Oh's"						—	—	30%	Eliminated
6	Nadav Philips	"I Have Nothing"						—	—	82%	Advanced
7	Daniel Barzilai	"Osher ledaka"						—	—	88%	Advanced
8	Shalva Band	"Here Comes the Sun"						—	—	91%	Advanced

Audition 2 – 27 November 2018^[5]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Avraham de Carvalho	"Issues"						—	—	89%	Advanced
2	Lior Chen	"She'eriot me'atzmi"						—	—	89%	Advanced
3	Shir Azulai	"Aba"						—	—	67%	Eliminated
4	Tai	"River"						—	—	92%	Advanced
5	Alex Kay	"Rolling in the Deep"						—	—	43%	Eliminated
6	Shefita	"You Oughta Know"								58%	Saved
7	Maya Bouskilla	"Listen"						—	—	82%	Advanced

Audition 3 – 1 December 2018^[6]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Osher Biton	"Tel Aviv balaila"			—[a]			—	—	85%	Advanced
2	Liat Eliyahu	"She'tisaref ha'ahava"						—	—	88%	Advanced
3	Ruby Bedalov	"Don't Stop Me Now"						—	—	54%	Eliminated
4	Shachaf	"Born This Way"						—	—	76%	Advanced
5	Klara Sabag	"Mangina"						—	—	81%	Advanced
6	Judith Hasin	"River"						—	—	80%	Advanced
7	Elad Tavori	"Ve'at"			Did not vote		Did not vote	—	—	44%	Eliminated

Audition 4 – 3 December 2018^[7]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Gal Binyamin	"Hakol over"						—	—	70%	Advanced
2	Barry Brown	"You Raise Me Up"						—	—	78%	Advanced

Audition 5 – 4 December 2018^[7]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Naor Cohen	"Shemishehu yaatzor oti"						—	—	85%	Advanced
2	Naama Gali Cohen	"New Rules"						—	—	75%	Advanced
3	Shay Ben Aroya	"Ima im haiti"			Did not vote	Did not vote		—	—	46%	Eliminated
4	Romi Azar	"Creep"								55%	Saved
5	Limor Oved	"Ve'im preda"			—[a]			—	—	91%	Advanced
6	Enosh Tzuberi	"Silsulim"						—	—	30%	Eliminated
7	Julia Grinitz	"Creep"								59%	Saved

Audition 6 – 8 December 2018^[8]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Asaf Maslati	"Ma ata rotze mimeni"						—	—	71%	Advanced
2	Eti Bitton	"Rak le'ima"						—	—	83%	Advanced
3	Asia and Alexandra	"Lost on You"						—	—	55%	Eliminated
4	Roy Sandler	"Yeladim ka'ale"						—	—	82%	Advanced
5	Aviv Matka	"Me and You"						—	—	35%	Eliminated
6	Sarah Moshaioff	"Ein li af echad"						—	—	90%	Advanced
7	Ohad Levi	"Tachzeri"						—	—	49%	Eliminated
8	Kobi Marimi	"Sweet Dreams"						—	—	92%	Advanced

Audition 7 – 11 December 2018^[9]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Ido Dankner	"One Dance /No"						—	—	70%	Advanced
2	Amit Sade	"Addicted to You"						—	—	81%	Advanced
3	Tomer Raz	"Gvulot hegayon"						—	—	71%	Advanced
4	Maor Kdoshim	"Im ha'ita ro'eh"						—	—	54%	Eliminated
5	Gilad Tenzer	"Ein yoter tov mize"						—	—	75%	Advanced
6	Meshi and Mor Portal	"Ach sheli"			Did not vote			—	—	39%	Eliminated
7	Elkana Marziano	"Holech li meyuash"						—	—	77%	Withdrew
8	Avivit Doron	"Mi yada she'kach yihye"			—[a]			—	—	43%	Eliminated

Audition 8 – 13 December 2018^[10]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Niv Yanko	"Ha'ahava hazot shelanu"						—	—	91%	Advanced
2	Gavriel Cohen	"Ve'im preda"			—[a]			—	—	29%	Eliminated
3	Eden Vered Mery	"Seven Nation Army"						—	—	78%	Advanced
4	Eliya Gabai	"Ahava ka'zo"						—	—	93%	Advanced

Audition 9 – 15 December 2018^[10]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Nave Madmon	"Stitches"						—	—	88%	Advanced
2	Yarden Yishai	"Albi ma'ak"						—	—	56%	Eliminated
3	Ayala Eligoola	"All I Ask"						—	—	83%	Advanced
4	Emanuel Shmuel	"Shelach beahava"						—	—	22%	Eliminated
5	Wanna Wanna	"Haverot shelach"						—	—	70%	Advanced
6	Tal Versano	"Malach sheli"								54%	Saved
7	Meni Gross	"Bamechonit"						—	—	66%	Eliminated
8	Ketreyah	"Mirrors"						—	—	95%	Advanced

Audition 10 – 19 December 2018^[11]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Alik Manshirov	"Ein po makom"						—	—	76%	Advanced
2	Frida Uziel	"Vidui"								60%	Saved

Audition 11 – 22 December 2018^[12]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Zohar Shechtman	"Shir shel yom chulin"								55%	Saved
2	Ilai Chapman	"Eich she'at yafa"						—	—	80%	Advanced
3	Osher Saba	"Ima im haiti"				Did not vote		—	—	34%	Eliminated
4	Noe Sassover	"Dangerous Woman"			—[a]			—	—	86%	Advanced
5	Shon Bello	"Zman tov lishmoah"		—[b]				—	—	40%	Eliminated
6	Yagel Yadai	"Ein li otcha"						—	—	77%	Advanced
7	Elsie Doll	"Friends"						—	—	36%	Eliminated
8	Nitay Twito	"Rise Up"						—	—	92%	Advanced

Audition 12 – 25 December 2018^[13]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Nethanel and Yarden Barzilai	"Tsevaim"			—[a]			—	—	70%	Advanced
2	Maayan Brinza	"Leilotai"				Did not vote		—	—	46%	Eliminated
3	Shira Givony	"If I Were a Boy"						—	—	72%	Advanced
4	Or Ben Atar	"Achrei hakol mitgagea"						—	—	94%	Advanced
5	Meital Locke	"Haderech el hakfar"		—[b]				—	—	66%	Eliminated
6	Avi Ashur	"Eten lach"		—[b]				—	—	79%	Advanced
7	Sofia Makovkina	"Highway to Hell"						—	—	39%	Eliminated
8	Ihab Atila	"Eten lach shanim"			—[a]			—	—	85%	Advanced

Audition 13 – 29 December 2018^[14]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Rotem Chen	"Osher ledaka"						—	—	80%	Advanced
2	Tchelet Perlmutter	"Soon We'll Be Found"						—	—	86%	Advanced
3	Dana Hertz	"Rise Up"						—	—	57%	Eliminated
4	Noa Klein	"Over the Rainbow"		—[b]				—	—	88%	Advanced
5	Los Caparos	"Nachon lehayom"						—	—	70%	Advanced
6	Daniela Lamash	"Make You Feel My Love"						—	—	44%	Eliminated
7	Ofek Adanek	"She'at zaza"	Did not vote			Did not vote				50%	Saved

Audition 14 – 30 December 2018^[15]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Tali Rabinovich	"Dangerous Woman"			—[a]			—	—	81%	Advanced
2	Itai Goren	"Hey at"						—	—	24%	Eliminated
3	Yuval Shauli	"Warrior"								59%	Saved
4	Immanuel Spiker	"Part of Your World"						—	—	59%	Eliminated
5	Dili	"Hasholef meBagdad"						—	—	25%	Eliminated
6	Bar Cohen	"Kshe'halachta"						—	—	81%	Advanced

Audition 15 – 31 December 2018^[16]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Avigal Reef Cohen	"Migdalor"						—	—	73%	Advanced
2	Ben Ganon	"Zer kisufim"						—	—	50%	Eliminated
3	Ariella Siman Tov	"Lo ohev oti yoter"			—[a]			—	—	82%	Advanced
4	Roy Pinhasov	"Al taslicheni l'et zikna"						—	—	68%	Eliminated
5	Yakir Rada	"Alfei sipurim"	Did not vote		Did not vote	Did not vote	Did not vote	—	—	29%	Eliminated
6	Osher Davidian	"Nizacht iti hakol"						—	—	88%	Advanced

Audition 16 – 1 January 2019^[17]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Presenters' Vote		Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori	R. Sela	A. Azar
1	Marie Ben Haim	"Yesh bi od koach"								67%	Saved
2	Mazal Kav	"Latch"						—	—	73%	Advanced
3	Michal Shavo	"Your Love (Keeps Me Alive)"						—	—	18%	Eliminated
4	Elisete Ritter	"Mas que Nada"						—	—	22%	Eliminated
5	Gadi Sulimanov	"Nagia rachok"			—[a]	Did not vote		—	—	63%	Eliminated
6	Natalie Wamba Berry	"Crazy"		—[b]				—	—	83%	Advanced
7	Amir and Shahar Exol	"Katonti"		—[b]				—	—	66%	Eliminated
8	Ana Eliya Ben David	"Nigun haneshamot"			—[a]			—	—	45%	Eliminated
9	Zohar Garala	"Lomedet lalechet"						—	—	78%	Advanced

The shortlisting rounds were broadcast between 7 and 10 January 2019. 20 of the 67 contestants advanced to the next phase of the competition. The results were decided with the same method as in the auditions with the only difference that votes in this round were cast solely by the judges, therefore each judge could add 20% to the contestant's final score. Each shortlisting round consisted of two rounds: in the first round all contestants performed behind the wall. The contestants with a score of at least 60% advanced to the second round where the judges decided which contestants advance to the next phase of the competition.

Shortlisting Round 1 – 7 January 2019^[18]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
1	Lior Chen	"Sipur machur"			Did not vote			80%	Advanced
2	Maya Bouskilla	"Wrecking Ball"						100%	Advanced
3	Shefita	"Karma Police"						80%	Advanced
4	Tal Versano	"Osher ledaka"						20%	Eliminated
5	Tai	"High Hopes"						80%	Advanced
6	Nadav Philips	"Paparazzi"						60%	Eliminated
7	Ariella Siman Tov	"Chelek mimcha"						20%	Eliminated
8	Ayala Eligoola	"Shallow"						80%	Eliminated
9	Osher Biton	"Yam shel dmaot"						80%	Advanced

Shortlisting Round 2 – 8 January 2019^[19]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
1	Klara Sabag	"Who You Are"						80%	Advanced
2	Daniel Barzilai	"I'm Not the Only One"						100%	Advanced
3	Frida Uziel	"Wicked Game"				Did not vote		20%	Eliminated
4	Naor Cohen	"Etz yarok miplastik"						80%	Advanced
5	Naama Gali Cohen	"Crazy in Love"						60%	Advanced
6	Ido Dankner	"...Baby One More Time"						60%	Eliminated
7	Romi Azar	"Help!"						20%	Eliminated
8	Shalva Band	"Eich efshar shelo"						100%	Advanced

Shortlisting Round 3 – 9 January 2019^[20]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
1	Gal Binyamin	"Absurd"						60%	Eliminated
2	Shachaf	"Fallin'"						80%	Advanced
3	Nethanel and Yarden Barzilai	"HaSheket SheNish'ar"				Did not vote		20%	Eliminated
4	Liat Eliyahu	"Ve'im tavo'i elay / Haim sheli"						80%	Advanced
5	Kobi Marimi	"Jar of Hearts"						80%	Advanced
6	Julia Grinitz	"Freedom"						80%	Eliminated
7	Ofri Calfon	"Kol hamilim"						100%	Advanced
8	Asaf Maslati	"Ahava"						40%	Eliminated
9	Wanna Wanna	"Only Girl (In the World)"						100%	Advanced

Shortlisting Round 4 – 10 January 2019^[21]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
1	Danielle Mazuz	"Ata chayav lamut alay"						80%	Advanced
2	Avraham de Carvalho	"Who You Are"						80%	Advanced
3	Amit Sade	"This Love"	Did not vote					20%	Eliminated
4	Tchelet Perlmutter	"Gara mul hamayim"						60%	Eliminated
5	Ketreyah	"Price Tag"						60%	Advanced
6	Judith Hasin	"Lif'amim"						20%	Eliminated
7	Nitay Twito	"All of Me"						100%	Advanced
8	Ofek Adanek	"Stigma shel hagil"						40%	Eliminated
9	Nave Madmon	"Pillowtalk"						100%	Advanced

The Top 20 round was broadcast between 13 and 15 January 2019. The remaining 20 contestants were paired in 10 duels. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the next phase of the competition. At the end of the duels, two contestants who did not win their duels were saved by the judges and the remaining contestants were eliminated.

Static and Ben-El Tavori did not attend the shows, therefore they did not vote. They were replaced by singer Itay Levi in the judging panel.

Top 20 Round – Show 1 – 13 January 2019^[22]

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	I. Levi	H. Skaat	S. Maimon
I	1	Wanna Wanna	"I Trusted U"						68%	Eliminated
	2	Maya Bouskilla	"If I Were a Boy"						81%	Advanced
II	3	Shachaf	"Déjà vu"						60%	Eliminated
	4	Klara Sabag	"Rolling in the Deep"						76%	Advanced
III	5	Lior Chen	"Russian Roulette"						64%	Eliminated
	6	Osher Biton	"Estader levad"						87%	Advanced

Top 20 Round – Show 2 – 14 January 2019^[23]

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	I. Levi	H. Skaat	S. Maimon
I	1	Naama Gali Cohen	"Rockabye"						64%	Eliminated
	2	Daniel Barzilai	"Ish shel laila"						80%	Advanced
II	3	Shefita	"Can't Stop the Feeling!"						41%	Saved
	4	Tai	"Radioactive"						89%	Advanced
III	5	Kobi Marimi	"Mad World"						57%	Advanced
	6	Liat Eliyahu	"Stone Cold"						51%	Eliminated

Top 20 Round – Show 3 – 15 January 2019^[24]

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	I. Levi	H. Skaat	S. Maimon
I	1	Avraham de Carvalho	"Viva la Vida"						67%	Saved
	2	Ketreyah	"Just the Way You Are"						83%	Advanced
II	3	Nitay Twito	"Sorry"						68%	Eliminated
	4	Ofri Calfon	"Tocho ratzuf ahava"						90%	Advanced
III	5	Nave Madmon	"Never Forget You"						53%	Eliminated
	6	Danielle Mazuz	"Earth Song"						54%	Advanced
IV	7	Shalva Band	"The Sound of Silence"						95%	Advanced
	8	Naor Cohen	"Shtaim balaila"						66%	Eliminated

The first heat was broadcast on 19 January 2019. The remaining twelve contestants were paired in five thematical duels: the contestants of the first duel had to show their style, the second duel consisted of songs of divas, in the third duel four contestants were paired in two duets, the contestants in the fourth duel had to sing about a personal story and the fifth duel consisted of former Eurovision Song Contest entries. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the next phase of the competition. At the end of the duels, five contestants who did not win their duels were saved by the judges and the remaining one contestant was eliminated.^[25]

Heat 1 – 19 January 2019

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
I	1	Ketreyah	"Wings"						85%	Advanced
	2	Danielle Mazuz	"No Diggity"						69%	Saved
II	3	Shefita	"Bootylicious"						83%	Saved
	4	Avraham de Carvalho	"When We Were Young"						88%	Advanced
III	5	Klara Sabag and Osher Biton	"Tafasta li makom"						71%	Eliminated Saved[c]
	6	Ofri Calfon andShalva Band	"Chalomot shel acherim"						94%	Advanced
IV	7	Tai	"Breathe Me"						72%	Saved
	8	Daniel Barzilai	"Hello"						79%	Advanced
V	9	Kobi Marimi	"Fuego"						80%	Saved
	10	Maya Bouskilla	"Rise Like a Phoenix"						85%	Advanced

The second heat was broadcast on 20 and 21 January 2019. The remaining eleven contestants were paired in duels. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the next phase of the competition while the contestant with the lowest score at that moment had to choose its opponent at the end of each duel. At the end of the duels, the contestant with the lowest score was eliminated.

Heat 2 – First Part – 20 January 2019^[26]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
1	Daniel Barzilai	"Grenade"						73%	Advanced
2	Maya Bouskilla	"Warrior"						63%	Advanced
3	Shefita	"Broken"						69%	Advanced
4	Danielle Mazuz	"Toxic"						59%	Advanced
5	Avraham de Carvalho	"Back to Black"						88%	Advanced
6	Osher Biton	"Harbe mimech nishar"						47%	Eliminated
7	Shalva Band	"Hallelujah"			Did not vote			76%	Advanced
8	Ofri Calfon	"Ahava ka'zo"						55%	Advanced

Heat 2 – Second Part – 21 January 2019^[27]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
9	Kobi Marimi	"Circle of Life"			Did not vote			70%	Advanced
10	Tai	"Love on the Brain"						64%	Advanced
11	Ketreyah	"Kshalev boche"						86%	Advanced

The third heat was broadcast on 26 January 2019. The remaining ten contestants were paired in four thematical duels: in the first duel four contestants were paired in two duets, the contestants in the second duel had to sing about a personal story, the third duel consisted of votes of the audience only and the contestants in the fourth duel had to sing in duet with one of the judges, Harel Skaat. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the next phase of the competition. At the end of the duels, four contestants who did not win their duels were saved by the judges and the remaining one contestant was eliminated.^[28]

In the first and fourth duel, Harel Skaat was replaced byGali Atari who, as part ofMilk and Honey, won theEurovision Song Contest 1979.

Heat 3 – 26 January 2019

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
I	1	Maya Bouskilla and Ketreyah	"Bang Bang"						94%	Advanced
	2	Ofri Calfon and Daniel Barzilai	"Lifnei she'yigamer"						92%	Saved
II	3	Danielle Mazuz	"Make You Feel My Love"				Did not vote		58%	Eliminated
	4	Kobi Marimi	"This Is Me"						81%	Advanced
III	5	Shefita	"Material Girl"	—	—	—	—	—	37%	Saved
	6	Tai	"Womanizer"	—	—	—	—	—	76%	Advanced
IV	7	Shalva Band and Harel Skaat	"Bechayai"						83%	Advanced
	8	Avraham de Carvalho and Harel Skaat	"Shallow"						75%	Saved

The fourth heat was broadcast on 27 and 28 January 2019. The remaining nine contestants performed behind the wall except for the first contestant. At the end of the performances, the contestant with the lowest score was eliminated.

Heat 4 – First Part – 27 January 2019^[29]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
1	Kobi Marimi	"Diamonds"						48%	Eliminated
2	Ketreyah	"Stay"						95%	Advanced
3	Ofri Calfon	"Runnin' (Lose It All)"						71%	Advanced
4	Shefita	"Black Hole Sun"						54%	Advanced
5	Tai	"Never Tear Us Apart"						69%	Advanced
6	Daniel Barzilai	"Eifo hayit"						59%	Advanced
7	Maya Bouskilla	"I Will Always Love You"						77%	Advanced

Heat 4 – Second Part – 28 January 2019^[30]

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
8	Shalva Band	"Ani ro'a bach mashehu tov"						91%	Advanced
9	Avraham de Carvalho	"Let It Go"				Did not vote		56%	Advanced

The first semi-final was broadcast on 2 February 2019 and consisted of two rounds: four of the remaining eight contestants were paired in two duels in the first round. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the second round. At the end of the first round, one of the remaining two contestants was saved by the judges and the other contestant was eliminated. The winners of the two duels were paired in a third duel in the second round.At the end of the duel, each judge allocated twelve points to their favourite and ten points to their runner-up. In addition to the votes of the judges, 40 points in proportion to the votes of the audience were also allocated to the two contestants. In the end, the contestant with the higher number of points advanced directly to the final and the other contestant advanced to the next phase of the competition.^[31]

In addition to the individual performances, the four contestants performedI Gotta Feeling prior to the first round.

On 5 February 2019Shalva Band announced that they would withdraw from the competition.^[32]

Semi-final 1 – First Round – 2 February 2019

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
I	1	Ketreyah	"There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back"						88%	Second Round
	2	Tai	"Genius"						42%	Eliminated
II	3	Daniel Barzilai	"Kshe'acher"						30%	Saved
	4	Shalva Band	"True Colors"						84%	Second Round

The second semi-final was broadcast on 3 February 2019 and consisted of two rounds: four of the remaining eight contestants were paired in two duels in the first round. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the second round. At the end of the first round, one of the remaining two contestants was saved by the judges and the other contestant was eliminated. The winners of the two duels were paired in a third duel in the second round.At the end of the duel, each judge allocated twelve points to their favourite and ten points to their runner-up. In addition to the votes of the judges, 40 points in proportion to the votes of the audience were also allocated to the two contestants. In the end, the contestant with the higher number of points advanced directly to the final and the other contestant advanced to the next phase of the competition.^[33]

In addition to the individual performances, the four contestants performedCan't Stop the Feeling prior to the first round.

Semi-final 2 – First Round – 3 February 2019

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
I	1	Maya Bouskilla	"Love On Top /We Will Rock You"						85%	Second Round
	2	Shefita	"Imagine"						72%	Saved
II	3	Avraham de Carvalho	"Writing's on the Wall"						82%	Second Round
	4	Ofri Calfon	"Ya mama"						55%	Eliminated

The third semi-final was broadcast on 4 February 2019. The remaining four contestants who did not advance automatically to the final performed behind the wall except for the first contestant. At the end of the performances, the contestant with the highest score advanced to the final.^[34]

Semi-final 3 – 4 February 2019

Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
			A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
1	Daniel Barzilai	"Use Somebody"						50%	Advanced
2	Ketreyah	"Rise Up"						91%	Finalist
3	Shefita	"Lioness"						65%	Advanced
4	Avraham de Carvalho	"Perfect"						89%	Advanced

The wildcard round was broadcast on 7 February 2019. Two previously eliminated contestants were paired in a duel. At the end of the duel, each judge allocated twelve points to their favourite and ten points to their runner-up. In addition to the votes of the judges, 40 points in proportion to the votes of the audience were also allocated to the two contestants. In the end, the contestant with the higher number of points returned to the competition and the other contestant was eliminated.^[35]

The fourth semi-final was broadcast on 9 February 2019 and consisted of two rounds: the remaining four contestants were paired in two duels in the first round. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the second round. At the end of the first round, one of the remaining two contestants was saved by the judges and the other contestant was eliminated. The remaining three contestants were paired in a third duel in the second round.At the end of the duel, each judge allocated twelve points to their favourite, ten points to their runner-up and eight points to their least favourite. In addition to the votes of the judges, 60 points in proportion to the votes of the audience were also allocated to the three contestants. In the end, the two contestants with the highest number of points advanced to the final and the third-placed contestant was eliminated.^[36]

Semi-final 4 – First Round – 9 February 2019

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
I	1	Shefita	"Crazy"						74%	Saved
	2	Avraham de Carvalho	"Believe"						89%	Second Round
II	3	Daniel Barzilai	"Im ha'ita ro'eh"						58%	Eliminated
	4	Kobi Marimi	"Russian Roulette"						78%	Second Round

The final was held on 12 February 2019 and consisted of two rounds: the remaining four contestants were paired in two duels in the first round. From each duel, the contestant with the higher score advanced to the second round. In the first round, each judge could boost the contestants' score by three percent instead of the original eight. At the end of the first round, one of the remaining two contestants was saved by the viewers and the other contestant was eliminated.

The remaining three contestants were paired in a third duel in the second round. At the end of the duel, each judge allocated twelve points to their favourite, ten points to their runner-up and eight points to their least favourite. In addition to the votes of the judges, 270 points in proportion to the votes of the audience were also allocated to the three contestants. In the end, the contestant with the highest number of points won the competition.^[37]

Additionally, three thematical jury groups were asked to vote by the same method as the in-studio judges in the second round. The members of the three jury groups were:

• Group 1: Judges ofKokhav Nolad –Gal Uchovsky,Margalit Tzan'ani, Tzedi Tzarfati
• Group 2: Presenters of theIsraeli Public Broadcasting Corporation – Avia Malka, Dafna Lustig,Lucy Ayoub
• Group 3: Composers of former Israeli Eurovision Song Contest entries – Kobi Oshrat, Stav Beger, Yoav Ginai

In addition to the individual performances, the four contestants performed a medley ofToy andHigh Hopes prior to the first round and the winner of theEurovision Song Contest 2018,Netta performed Bassa Sababa as an interval act.

Final – First Round – 12 February 2019

Duel	Draw	Artist	Song	Judges' Vote					Score	Result
				A. Amdursky	K. Peles	H. Skaat	S. Maimon	Static & B. El Tavori
I	1	Ketreyah	"Locked Out of Heaven"						68%	Second Round
	2	Shefita	"My Way"						65%	Saved
II	3	Maya Bouskilla	"Euphoria"						54%	4th
	4	Kobi Marimi	"Always"						79%	Second Round

The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 took place at theExpo Tel Aviv inTel Aviv, Israel and consisted of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May and a final on 18 May 2019. 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) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed to the final. As the host country, Israel automatically qualified to compete in the final. In addition to its participation in the final, Israel was required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals.

Israel was drawn to compete in the second half of the final, performing 14th, receiving a total of 35 points: 35 points from the televoting and 0 points from the juries. This made it the fourth time since 2015 that the host country ranked in the bottom five.