Israel showed strong interest in the competition from the very beginning and it paid off very soon; they won for the first time in Paris in 1978 with the song A-Ba-Ni-Bi performed by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. The Eurovision Song Contest travelled to Jerusalem in 1979 where Israel won the competition for the second time in a row. The voting climax that year was unforgettable: Spain was the last country to cast its votes and at that moment, Spain itself was in the lead, only 1 point ahead of Israel. The Spanish 10 points then caused Milk and Honey's Hallelujah to win, which gave Israel its second Eurovision victory. After the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, Hallelujah became another international hit.
Dana International made headlines around the world in 1998 when she became the first openly trans singer to win the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition returned to Jerusalem in 1999. Dana International returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 but failed to qualify for the Grand Final. Israel has qualified for every Grand Final since 2015.
In 2018, Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest for the fourth time, with Netta receiving 529 points for her empowering anthem TOY.
Participation history
Event | Contestant | Song | Place | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Liverpool 2023 |
Semi-Final
3rd - 127 points
|
Grand Final
3rd - 362 points
|
||
Turin 2022 |
Semi-Final
13th - 61 points
|
|||
Rotterdam 2021 |
Semi-Final
5th - 192 points
|
Grand Final
17th - 93 points
|
||
Rotterdam 2020 | ||||
Tel Aviv 2019 |
Grand Final
23rd - 35 points
|
|||
Lisbon 2018 |
Semi-Final
1st - 283 points
|
Grand Final
1st - 529 points
|
||
Kyiv 2017 |
Semi-Final
3rd - 207 points
|
Grand Final
23rd - 39 points
|
||
Stockholm 2016 |
Semi-Final
7th - 147 points
|
Grand Final
14th - 135 points
|
||
Vienna 2015 |
Semi-Final
3rd - 151 points
|
Grand Final
9th - 97 points
|
||
Copenhagen 2014 |
Semi-Final
14th - 19 points
|
|||
Malmö 2013 |
Semi-Final
14th - 40 points
|
|||
Baku 2012 |
Semi-Final
13th - 33 points
|
|||
Düsseldorf 2011 |
Semi-Final
15th - 38 points
|
|||
Oslo 2010 |
Semi-Final
8th - 71 points
|
Grand Final
14th - 71 points
|
||
Moscow 2009 |
Semi-Final
7th - 75 points
|
Grand Final
16th - 53 points
|
||
Belgrade 2008 |
Semi-Final
5th - 104 points
|
Grand Final
9th - 124 points
|
||
Helsinki 2007 |
Semi-Final
24th - 17 points
|
|||
Athens 2006 |
Ze Hazman
|
Grand Final
23rd - 4 points
|
||
Kyiv 2005 |
Semi-Final
7th - 158 points
|
Grand Final
4th - 154 points
|
||
Istanbul 2004 |
Le'ha'amin
|
Semi-Final
11th - 57 points
|
||
Riga 2003 |
Words For Love
|
Grand Final
19th - 17 points
|
||
Tallinn 2002 |
Light A Candle
|
Grand Final
12th - 37 points
|
||
Copenhagen 2001 |
Ein Davar
|
Grand Final
16th - 25 points
|
||
Stockholm 2000 |
Sa'me'akh
|
Grand Final
22nd - 7 points
|
||
Jerusalem 1999 |
Yom Huledeth
|
Grand Final
5th - 93 points
|
||
Birmingham 1998 |
Grand Final
1st - 172 points
|
|||
Dublin 1995 |
Amen
|
Grand Final
8th - 81 points
|
||
Millstreet 1993 |
Shiru
|
Grand Final
24th - 4 points
|
||
Malmö 1992 |
Ze Rak Sport
|
Grand Final
6th - 85 points
|
||
Rome 1991 |
Kan
|
Grand Final
3rd - 139 points
|
||
Zagreb 1990 |
Shara Barechovot
|
Grand Final
18th - 16 points
|
||
Lausanne 1989 |
Derech Ha'melech
|
Grand Final
12th - 50 points
|
||
Dublin 1988 |
Ben Adam
|
Grand Final
7th - 85 points
|
||
Brussels 1987 |
Shir Habatlanim
|
Grand Final
8th - 73 points
|
||
Bergen 1986 |
Yavoh Yom
|
Grand Final
19th - 7 points
|
||
Gothenburg 1985 |
Olé Olé
|
Grand Final
5th - 93 points
|
||
Munich 1983 |
Hi
|
Grand Final
2nd - 136 points
|
||
Harrogate 1982 |
Hora
|
Grand Final
2nd - 100 points
|
||
Dublin 1981 |
Halaylah
|
Grand Final
7th - 56 points
|
||
Jerusalem 1979 |
Hallelujah
|
Grand Final
1st - 125 points
|
||
Paris 1978 |
Abanibi
|
Grand Final
1st - 157 points
|
||
London 1977 |
Ah-haa-vah Hee Shir Lish-naa-yim
|
Grand Final
11th - 49 points
|
||
The Hague 1976 |
Emor Shalom
|
Grand Final
6th - 77 points
|
||
Stockholm 1975 |
At Ve'ani
|
Grand Final
11th - 40 points
|
||
Brighton 1974 |
Natati La Khaiai
|
Grand Final
7th - 11 points
|
||
Luxembourg 1973 |
Ey-sham
|
Grand Final
4th - 97 points
|