Israel: The Top Ten
Hello and with the World Cup kicking off and Israel beginning the process of organising a formal bidding process to decide their 2019 host city, it seems like the storm is finally beginning to calm down into the usual Eurovision period of reflection. Having just written a fairly critical article on the powers that be in Israel, I thought I would choose Israel as the first country for the top ten segment of this blog. This does what it says on the tin, I look back through every entry the chosen country has ever submitted and I share with everybody my top ten and the reason for its placing. In doing so, we have the opportunity to delve into the Eurovision history and culture of different countries.
10. 'There Must Be Another Way' by Noa & Mira Awad (2009)
Moscow 2009 was a big contest in every possible sense of the term. The stage was costly, but big, technologically advanced and stunning. Azerbaijan and Iceland were punching above their way to achieve some of their best results yet. And of course, Alexander Rybak was strolling his way to victory with one of the greatest Eurovision songs of all time. Having had the bad luck of drawing what I call "the deadly second slot", Israel's entry was always going to get forgotten in the wider context of that year's contest. It shouldn't however take away from the guts associated with sending a Jewish-Israeli & Arab-Israeli duo to represent a country with a political climate as tense as that one. The song itself was not one of the Israeli greats and the staging could have been better but the package of this and the statement that the Israeli broadcasters chose to send in 2009 mean that this deserves a place in this top ten.
9. 'Ey Sham' by Ilanit (1973)
For me, it is deserved that both of Ilanit's entries make this list. She was born in Tel Aviv in 1947 after her parents migrated from Poland and is in many ways one of the first Israeli legends. She was voted as Israel's top female singer every year between 1971 and 1977 but had a successful career as part of the duo Ilan & Ilanit from the mid-1960s. She was therefore the perfect choice to be Israel's first ever Eurovision representative in 1973. The song was composed by Israeli composer Nurit Hirsh who that night was also one of the first female conducters of the Eurovision orchestra (and would have been the first if they had performed before Sweden). The song is a dramatic ballad which Ilanit delivers with confidence and heart and be it not for 1973 being the year of Cliff Richards ('Power to All Our Friends'), Mocedades ('Eres Tu') & Anne-Marie David ('Tu te reconnaitras') it would have placed even higher.
8. 'Diva' by Dana International (1998)
I know there will be many Eurovision fans who feel frustrated by my decision to not place Dana higher so I will explain both sides of why she is here. Firstly, as all Eurovision fans know, Dana single-handedly transformed the way that Eurovision is viewed and brought it into the modern era, a contest that is accepting, open-armed, embracing, colourful and fun. I would make the argument that be it not for this winning in 1998, that a lot of the songs that made up Eurovision during the early 2000s would not have made it onto the stage. On top of which, she fought against political pressure from Israeli conservative groups (to the point where she required security escorts for the entire period that she was in the United Kingdom). She is quite rightly a Eurovision legend who will be treasured forever. However, I am not a massive fan of the song. Despite the fact that it was a song sung in Hebrew in an era when it seemed like only songs in English could win Eurovision, the song lacks character for me and the staging wasn't anything to get excited about. It also suffered from the same issue that Imaani suffered from which was a complete overuse of the drum machine (then again, it was the 90s). This song places in this top ten on account of the incredible story of Dana to get there and what she has given to the Eurovision community but the song on its own lacks depth that would otherwise get me listening to it more often (though I am singing that chorus when the song comes on).
7. 'A-Ba-Ni-Bi' by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta (1978)
And there go another section of Eurovision fans frustrated by my low placings of Israeli winners because I feel like they lack depth. Albeit, this was a pretty poor year for Eurovision, but even so this is a weak song nonetheless. What the Israelis got right this year, was a stellar performer, Nurit Hirsh getting the orchestrals spot on and a ridiculously catchy chorus (and throw in a cheeky little key change at the end for good measure). As is always the case in Eurovision, it is the package that wins rather than the song and they did the job in the end to bring the contest to Israel for the first time. Here's an interesting fact, the contest is about to have been hosted in Israel in 1979, 1999 & 2019 - strange coincedence!
6. 'Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim' by Ilanit (1977)
Ilanit's second placing comes higher on this top ten for one very simple reason that ultimately boils down to how people like their Eurovision ballads. I like my ballads being epic, building and ultimately a nice big note at the end that wraps the whole thing up nicely ('Neka Mi Ne Svane' is my perfect Eurovision ballad). This starts very softly, gently and beautifully and doesn't quite build enough to place higher but it is still a lovely song that I thoroughly enjoy listening to and should have placed higher on the night. Not that it really matters because the year after, they won with a song that in my opinion was not as good (see just above)!
5. 'Made of Stars' by Hovi Star (2016)
Speaking of ballads that build nicely, Hovi Star truly surprised me in 2016 with a stunning performance in Stockholm that definitely deserved a higher placing. To be honest, I was initially reluctant to like this because I had heard the version of this song by Israeli runner up Nofar Salman and I was really gutted that the Israeli public had gone for Hovi over her. However, credit where credit is due, this was an Israeli act in which the whole package worked fantastically. The staging was wonderful, the camera angles were spot on, Hovi was very lovable and the song was a worthy contribution to what in my opinion was the best Eurovision Song Contest of all time (and I am beginning to wonder if we will ever see one better). It is also worth noting that if you look deep enough into the lyrics, they have about five different meanings.
4. 'Amen' by Liora (1995)
A lot of people will be confused by me putting this at 4 whilst putting some of the Israeli classics at 7 and 8 but I urge people to listen to the song first. This is a heartfelt vocal performance from Liora with backing vocalists who are on point and truly lend themselves to the staging and to the overall package and again, a number of key changes seals the deal on this being a strong song that wasn't right for its time. I know that people are always divided on songs that are basically prayers to god but I seriously urge people to listen to the song and tell me that it doesn't have merit on being one of the best Israeli entries of all time.
3. 'Golden Boy' by Nadav Guedj (2015)
I mean, every Eurovision fan knows this one but the reason I am placing this as high as I am deserves some context. It's 2015 and Israel haven't qualified for the Grand Final since 2010. Last year, Israel had one of the fan favourites only to watch it get unceremoniously dumped out of the Semi in Copenhagen. The Israeli broadcasters make the decision to select their artist using a singing competition (HaKokhav HaBa) and the winner is Nadav Guedj, a 16 year old talented French-Israeli singer born in Paris and they give him 'Golden Boy' a song that garners a lot of attention as being the first Israeli entry entirely sung in English. I'm not going to lie, I was one of the people who were cynical about this getting out of the Semi Final in Vienna but boy was I proven wrong by this staging. The staging and camera angles were excellent, Nadav was so lovable and the rest was history. Every time I have met anybody who is from Israel or who lived in Israel, we have a full sing-a-long of this and have a great time because it is such a feel-good, upbeat song that courses with Israeli identity. Despite this only placing 9th in the Grand Final, it is a Eurovision classic and I would be very surprised if Nadav wasn't performing this on the Eurovision 2019 stage particularly if the contest ends up being hosted in Tel Aviv.
2. 'Hallelujah' by Gali Atari and Milk & Honey (1979)
At number two, we have what is in my opinion, Israel's best winner. The song doesn't try to dazzle, it doesn't try to be spectacular, it just rests on its beautiful simplicity and does fantastic exuding buckets of character in the process. Brought together to represent Israel in their first-ever home contest, this makeshift group with this song would surely have been seen as a massive risk from Israel but it paid off and it is a very deserved winner that has quite rightly become a modern standard amongst the Jewish community all over the world. Hallelujah!
1. 'Hi' by Ofra Haza (1983)
Yes. My favourite Israeli entry of all time was not a winner and quite frankly was one of the biggest Eurovision robberies of all time. 'Hi' literally translates into English as 'Alive' and quite rightly so as the song is bursting with life. The lyrics start as being something personal but develop into a song talking of the life of the people of Israel and ultimately, whatever side of the political divide you sit on, this is something we can surely get behind. On top of which, the performance was staged perfectly and Ofra looked fantastic. Beyond the performance itself, the occasion was made meaningful by the location of the contest (Munich) - a country where Jews were once persecuted and a city where just eleven years earlier, eleven Israelis were massacred during the 1972 Olympic Games. This should have won, especially when it narrowly lost to an unmemorable winner from Luxembourg. This is the song that is representative of Israel as a country. It has taken a long time to get to now when the Jewish people after centuries of persecution have a homeland and whilst the political struggle is set to continue for decades to come, one thing is for sure, Israel is alive and Netta's victory was simply a further indication of that reality.
So what do you think? Do you agree with my top 10? Do you feel aggrieved that Netta didn't make it? Let me know in the comments below. Please don't forget to subscribe to the blog and share any content you like, there will be much more coming at you as we settle in for a summer of Eurovision reflections before the 2019 season kicks off!
10. 'There Must Be Another Way' by Noa & Mira Awad (2009)
Moscow 2009 was a big contest in every possible sense of the term. The stage was costly, but big, technologically advanced and stunning. Azerbaijan and Iceland were punching above their way to achieve some of their best results yet. And of course, Alexander Rybak was strolling his way to victory with one of the greatest Eurovision songs of all time. Having had the bad luck of drawing what I call "the deadly second slot", Israel's entry was always going to get forgotten in the wider context of that year's contest. It shouldn't however take away from the guts associated with sending a Jewish-Israeli & Arab-Israeli duo to represent a country with a political climate as tense as that one. The song itself was not one of the Israeli greats and the staging could have been better but the package of this and the statement that the Israeli broadcasters chose to send in 2009 mean that this deserves a place in this top ten.
9. 'Ey Sham' by Ilanit (1973)
For me, it is deserved that both of Ilanit's entries make this list. She was born in Tel Aviv in 1947 after her parents migrated from Poland and is in many ways one of the first Israeli legends. She was voted as Israel's top female singer every year between 1971 and 1977 but had a successful career as part of the duo Ilan & Ilanit from the mid-1960s. She was therefore the perfect choice to be Israel's first ever Eurovision representative in 1973. The song was composed by Israeli composer Nurit Hirsh who that night was also one of the first female conducters of the Eurovision orchestra (and would have been the first if they had performed before Sweden). The song is a dramatic ballad which Ilanit delivers with confidence and heart and be it not for 1973 being the year of Cliff Richards ('Power to All Our Friends'), Mocedades ('Eres Tu') & Anne-Marie David ('Tu te reconnaitras') it would have placed even higher.
8. 'Diva' by Dana International (1998)
I know there will be many Eurovision fans who feel frustrated by my decision to not place Dana higher so I will explain both sides of why she is here. Firstly, as all Eurovision fans know, Dana single-handedly transformed the way that Eurovision is viewed and brought it into the modern era, a contest that is accepting, open-armed, embracing, colourful and fun. I would make the argument that be it not for this winning in 1998, that a lot of the songs that made up Eurovision during the early 2000s would not have made it onto the stage. On top of which, she fought against political pressure from Israeli conservative groups (to the point where she required security escorts for the entire period that she was in the United Kingdom). She is quite rightly a Eurovision legend who will be treasured forever. However, I am not a massive fan of the song. Despite the fact that it was a song sung in Hebrew in an era when it seemed like only songs in English could win Eurovision, the song lacks character for me and the staging wasn't anything to get excited about. It also suffered from the same issue that Imaani suffered from which was a complete overuse of the drum machine (then again, it was the 90s). This song places in this top ten on account of the incredible story of Dana to get there and what she has given to the Eurovision community but the song on its own lacks depth that would otherwise get me listening to it more often (though I am singing that chorus when the song comes on).
7. 'A-Ba-Ni-Bi' by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta (1978)
And there go another section of Eurovision fans frustrated by my low placings of Israeli winners because I feel like they lack depth. Albeit, this was a pretty poor year for Eurovision, but even so this is a weak song nonetheless. What the Israelis got right this year, was a stellar performer, Nurit Hirsh getting the orchestrals spot on and a ridiculously catchy chorus (and throw in a cheeky little key change at the end for good measure). As is always the case in Eurovision, it is the package that wins rather than the song and they did the job in the end to bring the contest to Israel for the first time. Here's an interesting fact, the contest is about to have been hosted in Israel in 1979, 1999 & 2019 - strange coincedence!
6. 'Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim' by Ilanit (1977)
Ilanit's second placing comes higher on this top ten for one very simple reason that ultimately boils down to how people like their Eurovision ballads. I like my ballads being epic, building and ultimately a nice big note at the end that wraps the whole thing up nicely ('Neka Mi Ne Svane' is my perfect Eurovision ballad). This starts very softly, gently and beautifully and doesn't quite build enough to place higher but it is still a lovely song that I thoroughly enjoy listening to and should have placed higher on the night. Not that it really matters because the year after, they won with a song that in my opinion was not as good (see just above)!
5. 'Made of Stars' by Hovi Star (2016)
Speaking of ballads that build nicely, Hovi Star truly surprised me in 2016 with a stunning performance in Stockholm that definitely deserved a higher placing. To be honest, I was initially reluctant to like this because I had heard the version of this song by Israeli runner up Nofar Salman and I was really gutted that the Israeli public had gone for Hovi over her. However, credit where credit is due, this was an Israeli act in which the whole package worked fantastically. The staging was wonderful, the camera angles were spot on, Hovi was very lovable and the song was a worthy contribution to what in my opinion was the best Eurovision Song Contest of all time (and I am beginning to wonder if we will ever see one better). It is also worth noting that if you look deep enough into the lyrics, they have about five different meanings.
4. 'Amen' by Liora (1995)
A lot of people will be confused by me putting this at 4 whilst putting some of the Israeli classics at 7 and 8 but I urge people to listen to the song first. This is a heartfelt vocal performance from Liora with backing vocalists who are on point and truly lend themselves to the staging and to the overall package and again, a number of key changes seals the deal on this being a strong song that wasn't right for its time. I know that people are always divided on songs that are basically prayers to god but I seriously urge people to listen to the song and tell me that it doesn't have merit on being one of the best Israeli entries of all time.
3. 'Golden Boy' by Nadav Guedj (2015)
I mean, every Eurovision fan knows this one but the reason I am placing this as high as I am deserves some context. It's 2015 and Israel haven't qualified for the Grand Final since 2010. Last year, Israel had one of the fan favourites only to watch it get unceremoniously dumped out of the Semi in Copenhagen. The Israeli broadcasters make the decision to select their artist using a singing competition (HaKokhav HaBa) and the winner is Nadav Guedj, a 16 year old talented French-Israeli singer born in Paris and they give him 'Golden Boy' a song that garners a lot of attention as being the first Israeli entry entirely sung in English. I'm not going to lie, I was one of the people who were cynical about this getting out of the Semi Final in Vienna but boy was I proven wrong by this staging. The staging and camera angles were excellent, Nadav was so lovable and the rest was history. Every time I have met anybody who is from Israel or who lived in Israel, we have a full sing-a-long of this and have a great time because it is such a feel-good, upbeat song that courses with Israeli identity. Despite this only placing 9th in the Grand Final, it is a Eurovision classic and I would be very surprised if Nadav wasn't performing this on the Eurovision 2019 stage particularly if the contest ends up being hosted in Tel Aviv.
2. 'Hallelujah' by Gali Atari and Milk & Honey (1979)
At number two, we have what is in my opinion, Israel's best winner. The song doesn't try to dazzle, it doesn't try to be spectacular, it just rests on its beautiful simplicity and does fantastic exuding buckets of character in the process. Brought together to represent Israel in their first-ever home contest, this makeshift group with this song would surely have been seen as a massive risk from Israel but it paid off and it is a very deserved winner that has quite rightly become a modern standard amongst the Jewish community all over the world. Hallelujah!
1. 'Hi' by Ofra Haza (1983)
Yes. My favourite Israeli entry of all time was not a winner and quite frankly was one of the biggest Eurovision robberies of all time. 'Hi' literally translates into English as 'Alive' and quite rightly so as the song is bursting with life. The lyrics start as being something personal but develop into a song talking of the life of the people of Israel and ultimately, whatever side of the political divide you sit on, this is something we can surely get behind. On top of which, the performance was staged perfectly and Ofra looked fantastic. Beyond the performance itself, the occasion was made meaningful by the location of the contest (Munich) - a country where Jews were once persecuted and a city where just eleven years earlier, eleven Israelis were massacred during the 1972 Olympic Games. This should have won, especially when it narrowly lost to an unmemorable winner from Luxembourg. This is the song that is representative of Israel as a country. It has taken a long time to get to now when the Jewish people after centuries of persecution have a homeland and whilst the political struggle is set to continue for decades to come, one thing is for sure, Israel is alive and Netta's victory was simply a further indication of that reality.
So what do you think? Do you agree with my top 10? Do you feel aggrieved that Netta didn't make it? Let me know in the comments below. Please don't forget to subscribe to the blog and share any content you like, there will be much more coming at you as we settle in for a summer of Eurovision reflections before the 2019 season kicks off!
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