About Israel...

2006 Result
History (1956 to 2005)
This year's entry
What I predicted...
What you thought...
What actually happened...
What the bookies thought...

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2006 Result

Points in Semi Final: N/A
Position in Semi Final: N/A

Points in Final: 4
Position in Final: 23rd
More about the 2006 result for Israel

2007 Contest: Must compete in Semi Final

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History (1956 to 2005)

Israel's previous appearances: 28 year(s) out of 50 [note]
Years participated: 1973-1979; 1981-1983; 1985-1993; 1995; 1998- [note]
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 takes part in the Final in 2006.
Get 'The Eurovision Song Contest: The Offical History' at Amazon.co.uk

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This year's entry

Position in Semi Final draw: N/A
Position in Final draw: 3

What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"Israel's Kdam-Eurovision 2006 was held on 15 March, with Eddie Butler emerging as the winner with his song 'Ze hasman'. Eddie is no stranger to Eurovision, having finished 5th in 1999 as a member of the group Eden; while Galit Burg, one of the lyricists, had her own taste of Eurovision in 1989 when she performed in Lausanne with the 12-year-old Gili. 'Ze hasman is a pretty, rather saccharine song, that wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack of a Disney animation. It's very well performed too, though the constant switching between English and Hebrew is extremely clumsy and will certainly need work if the song is to be well received in Athens. However, I do think the Israelis should be pleased that they are already qualified for the Final, as I feel that this song would have struggled to get there on its own merits."

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What I predicted...

My prediction for Semi Final: N/A
My prediction for Final: 21st to 23rd
See all my predictions for the 2006 Semi Final
See all my predictions for the 2006 Final

What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"It's a nice enough song... but I really think it will take a miracle for Israel to repeat its success of 2005. The polls and bookmakers suggest that Israel will finish among the bottom few of the Final, and I suspect that may well be the case. Reports from rehearsals are positive though, so perhaps Eddie will do better than anyone expects. "
Want an alternative prediction? See Simon Hylands' 'Je t'adore, Eurovision!' site

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What you thought...

View the final leader board

In the run up to the Contest, 1,721 visitors to this site awarded points to their favourite songs in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006, voting as a representative of their own country's 'jury'. The votes awarded by representatives of each country were totalled, with each of the 38 participating countries (plus the 'Rest of the World') then awarding points - 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - based on the overall voting preference of its representatives. The points awarded to the entry from Israel are shown in the tables below:

Points awarded to Israel overall:
AL	7	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	4	CY	0	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	0	IE	0	MD	1	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	X	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	0	SI	0	UK	0
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 12, from 3/39 juries
Position: 30 out of 37

Points awarded to Israel in the Semi Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	0	IE	0	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	X	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	0	SI	0	UK	0
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: N/A, from N/A/39 juries
Position: N/A out of 23

Points awarded to Israel in the Final:
AL	7	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	5	CY	0	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	0	IE	0	MD	4	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	X	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	0	SI	0