Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013


Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Israeli entry was selected through Kdam Eurovision 2013, a national final consisting of three semi-finals, a second chance round and a final, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority. Moran Mazor represented Israel with the song "Rak bishvilo", which failed to qualify from the second semi-final of the competition, placing 14th and scoring 40 points.

Before Eurovision

Kdam Eurovision 2013

In August 2012, IBA announced that a new format would be implemented for their national final, which includes three semifinals, a second chance round and a final with 10 songs. The budget for the national selection was estimated to be €400,000.

Format

Three semi-finals with 10 songs in each were scheduled to take place on 26, 27 and 28 February 2013, with the top three songs qualifying to the final and the fourth placed song qualifying to the Second Chance round on 3 March 2013. Originally, the concept for the Second Chance round involved the songs that placed fourth and fifth in each semi-final qualifying, however the format was revised to include only the songs that finished in fourth place. Nine qualifiers from the semi-finals and an additional qualifier from the Second Chance round would complete the 10 song line-up for the final on 7 March 2013.
The five shows for Kdam Eurovision took place at the Broadcast Studio Complex in Holon, hosted by Ron Shachar and Orna Datz
The results of all shows were determined by a 50/50 combination of viewer votes and the votes of an expert jury panel. Viewers could cast their votes through SMS voting. The expert jury panel that evaluated the songs in the semi-finals and the final consisted of:
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 31 December 2012 and 16 January 2013. From all songs submitted to IBA, a special committee of artists, singers, composers, musicians, producers and experts from the music industry selected 30 songs for the competition. The competing songs were announced on 29 January 2013. The songs were later allocated into three semi-finals on 6 February 2013.
One week before each semi-final, on 19, 20 and 21 February 2013, the songs competing in each semi-final were released to the public online.

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final was held on 26 February 2013. Kathleen Reiter, Shany Zamir and Ron Weinreich qualified to the final, while Judah Gavra qualified to the Second Chance round. On 6 March 2013, Kathleen Reiter and the song "Ad elay" were withdrawn from the competition.
The interval act for the show was Moshe Peretz performing Israel's Eurovision Song Contest 1979 winning song "Hallelujah".

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final was held on 27 February 2013. Ran Sandler, Vladi Blayberg and Moran Mazuz qualified to the final, while Yarden Tsur qualified to the Second Chance round.
The interval act for the show was Asaf Hertz and Eleana Tidhar performing Israel's Eurovision Song Contest 1981 entry "Halayla".

Semi-final 3

The third semi-final was held on 28 February 2013. Hila Ben David, Meital De Razon and Asi Tal and Moran Mazor qualified to the final, while Nicki Goldstein qualified to the Second Chance round.
The interval act for the show was Omer Adam performing "Shvil ha'bricha" by Rita which competed in Kdam Eurovision 1986.

Second Chance

The Second Chance round was held on 3 March 2013, where the fourth placed song from each semi-final competed for the last spot in the final. "Hayom" performed by Judah Gavra qualified to the final. On 6 March 2013, Nicki Goldstein was given a spot in the final in order to replace the withdrawal of Kathleen Reiter.

Final

The final was held on 7 March 2013. The public televote for the final was opened on 3 March 2013 following the running order draw that took place during the second chance round. Ten entries competed during the show: Eight qualified directly from the semi-finals, while the remaining two qualified from the Second Chance round. The winner was selected by a combination of public SMS voting and a jury panel. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 301 points to award. Each jury member distributed their points as follows: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 points. The viewer SMS vote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 301 points rounded to the nearest integer: 30 points. "Rak bishvilo" performed by Moran Mazor was selected as the winner with a total of 104 points.
The interval acts during the show were Miri Mesika and Shlomi Shabat.

At Eurovision

Due to the approval from the EBU regarding a request made by the Israeli delegation to avoid complications with a national holiday coinciding with the date of the first semifinal, Israel competed in the second semi-final on 16 May for a place in the final on 18 May. In the second semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Israel would perform 10th, following Greece and preceding Armenia. The Israeli performance featured Mazor, wearing a black dress adorned with costume jewelry, joined by three backing vocalists, one of which also played a piano.
Israel failed to qualify from the second semi-final of the competition, placing 14th and scoring 40 points.

Points awarded to Israel

Points awarded by Israel

Semi-final 2

Points awarded in second semi-final:
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point

Final

Points awarded in the final:
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point