Eurovision 2008 - Israel

Ke'ilo kan
Bo'az Ma'uda

Music: Dana International
Lyrics: Dana International, Shai Kerem


History (1956 to 2007):

Israel's previous appearances: 30 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1973-1979; 1981-1983; 1985-1993; 1995; 1998-
Best result: 1st (1978, 1979, 1998)

I've lost track of the number of times that bright sparks have said to me "Why is Israel in Eurovision? It's not even part of Europe!" Unfortunately, it's difficult to reply "It's a member of the European Broadcasting Union, so it doesn't actually matter where the country is" without sounding like a Eurogeek. Nevertheless, despite not being in Europe, Israel's record in the contest is rather good, winning three times - in 1978 ('A Ba Ni Bi'), 1979 ('Hallelujah') and 1998. The most recent of these victories was by the splendid Dana International, famed as much for being transexual (she used to be a man) as for her song 'Diva'. I'm sure women across Europe (and Israel) were wondering how a former man could look so darn good as a woman.

After a good 5th place at the Jerusalem contest in 1999, Israel struggled during the first half of the noughties, finishing 22nd in 2000 with the controversial (but ultimately not very good) 'Sa'me'akh', 16th in 2001, 12th in 2002, 19th in 2003, and 11th in the Semi Final in 2004. The 2004 entry - 'Le'ha'amin' by David d'Or - was probably the best of the lot. I thought it was rather beautiful, but David's castrato voice was evidently not to everyone's taste, hence its failure to secure a place in that year's Final.

After a string of disappointing results, some suggested that politics had played a part in Israel's lack of success - fortunately, the 2005 Israeli entry showed that if people love a particular song, they will vote for it regardless of any political judgment. Singing 'Hasheket shenish'ar', everything about Shiri Maimon's performance worked well, even (unusually) the switch into English halfway through. Having finished 7th in the Semi Final, Shiri did even better in the Final, ending up 4th and ensuring that Israel took part in the Final in 2006. Unfortunately, Eddie Butler's 'Together we are one' couldn't maintain the momentum, slumping to 23rd place with just 4 points. Israel must therefore take part in the Semi Final in 2007.

Israel was be represented by the group Teapacks in Helsinki with the song 'Push the button'. Rightly or wrongly, the song has attracted controversy for its lyrics.


This year's entry:





My opinion & prediction:

I don’t know what to say about this entry. It’s a bad entry, but can get a lot of points just because it’s composed by Dana International.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 8th to 12th
My prediction for the Final: Possible qualifier; 16th to 20th