Israel was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 by the song "Michelle", written by Nadav Aharoni, Noam Bettan, Tzlil Klifi, and Yuval Raphael, and performed by Bettan himself. The Israeli participating broadcaster, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), selected Bettan as its representative through the show HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion, in collaboration with commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions, while the song "Michelle" was chosen internally. As with the previous two years, Israel's participation was the subject of controversy due to the Gaza war.
Israel was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2026. Performing during the show in position 10, Israel was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 16 May. It was later revealed that Israel placed first out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 269 points.[1] In the final, Israel performed in position 3 and placed second out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 343 points.[2][3]
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, Kan selects an entry to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Kan confirmed its intention to participate in the 2026 contest on 28 June 2025,[5] announcing on 29 September that its representative would continue to be selected through the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa (Rising Star).[6]
The Gaza war has made Israel's participation in the contest increasingly controversial, prompting calls for its exclusion and protests at the previous two editions.[7][8][9][10] Broadcasters from Ireland,[11] the Netherlands,[12]Slovenia,[13] and Spain[14] announced their intention to boycott the 2026 contest if Israel were allowed to compete. Following the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) general assembly meeting on 4 December 2025, which permitted Israel's participation,[15] all four broadcasters proceeded with their boycott,[16] joined by Iceland six days later.[17]
Before Eurovision
HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion
The artist who would represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 was selected through the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion (transl.The Next Star for Eurovision), produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Media Group, and broadcast on Keshet 12 as well as online via mako.co.il. The shows took place at the Neve Ilan Communications Center in Neve Ilan, and were hosted by Assi Azar and Rotem Sela. The judging panel for the competition composed of Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon (who represented Israel in 2005), Itay Levi, and Eden Hason.[18] A rotating panel of several guest judges also joined, though their votes did not count towards the result unless a main judge was absent from a performance.[19][20]
Auditions
Candidates were required to get a score of at least 70% of the votes from the judges and the studio audience in order to advance.
The 68 candidates who advanced from the auditions each performed an "intimate" song, and the judges picked 21 to proceed. Those candidates were: Agam Hazan, Alona Erez, Daniel Azar, Daniel Shevtsov, Dorin Or, Eitan Aharon, Elior Shemesh, Gal De Paz, Gilly Tsanaani, Mentamer Taganya, Michael HarPaz, Nave Levi, Noam Bettan, Ori Berko, Portrait, Saar Hadar, Shaked Solomon, Shaya Avitan, Shira Zloof, Stav Vaknin, and Tamir Levy.[35]
Top 21 round
In the top 21 round, the votes of the judges and an audience determine one or two contestants to be eliminated from each show.
From this round, the judges awarded each performance a score of between 7 and 12 points, accounting for 50% of the final score, while the votes of the studio audience accounted for the remaining 50%. The two candidates with the lowest scores were up for elimination, and the judges decided who to eliminate.
Asaf Liberman and Akiva Novick, who commentate on Eurovision for Kan, joined the judging panel for this round and the final, for which they shared one vote.
The final took place on 20 January 2026 and was divided into a first round, eliminating one finalist, and a superfinal among the remaining three artists, determining the winner. A public vote, held via the Kan app and determining 30% of the results of the first round, was opened after the performances in the first round of the final.[53] In the superfinal, a 50/50 combination of jury and public votes selected Noam Bettan as the winner.[54]
The song that Noam Bettan would perform in the contest was internally selected by a professional committee. Any member of the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel was able to submit entries from 21 December 2025 to 26 January 2026; submissions were required to include at least two lines of Hebrew lyrics.[55][56] Bettan also submitted his own entries.[57][58] Approximately 200 submissions were received at the closing of the deadline.[59] The selected song, titled "Michelle" and written by Bettan with Nadav Aharoni, Tzlil Klifi, and Yuval Raphael, was presented on 5 March 2026 during a special broadcast on Kan 11, aired from the Neve Ilan Communications Center and hosted by Hila Korach.[60][61][62]
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed to the final. On 12 January 2026, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country performed in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[63] Israel was scheduled for the second half of the first semi-final.[64] The shows' producers then decided the running order for the semi-finals; Israel was set to perform in position 10.[65]
The host broadcaster ORF confirmed that any boos for Israel would not be drowned out or replaced with pre-recorded applause, as they had been in the previous two years.[66]
Performance
Noam Bettan during a dress rehearsal before the final
Noam Bettan took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May.[67] His performance of "Michelle" was staged by Yuval Cohen and choreographed by Avichai Hacham, with Daniel Ben Avraham, Eden Zino, Jenia Gaponovam, Lihi Freud, and Yasmin Hachmon as supporting dancers; a large spinning "diamond" platform was featured as the central element of the staging.[68][69]
As part of changes to the contest's voting system in response to Israel's result the previous year, voting instructions were updated to "discourage disproportionate promotion campaigns… particularly when undertaken or supported by third parties, including governments or governmental agencies". Despite this, ahead of the first semi-final, reports circulated of the Israeli delegation again issuing promotional videos in several languages which instructed viewers to give the maximum 10 votes for Israel. The director of the Eurovision Song Contest, Martin Green, stated that he was made aware of the videos, as well as that Kan was given a formal warning. Kan later responded that the video was not backed by third-parties, and also cited similar advertising campaigns by other countries' delegations; despite that, the Israeli delegation took down the videos per the EBU's request.[70][71][72]
Social media post on Croatia's performance
The Croatian representatives, Lelek, posted on their Instagram that they were "disturbed" by a social media post by Kan about their performance with the caption, "When you overdo it with the henna tattoos in Eilat". Lelek stated, "We are disturbed by the comments made by the Israeli broadcaster KAN, in which our culture and the sacrifices made by oppressed Catholic women were mocked. It is especially disturbing to ridicule women singing about female pain and suffering while showing such a complete lack of empathy and respect for the suffering of others". Kan later removed the post and issued an apology.[73]
Semi-final
Israel performed in position 10, following the entry from Estonia and before the entry from Belgium.[65] During the performance, there were pro-Palestine chants and booing, with some audience members removed.[74] At the end of the show, the country was announced as a qualifier for the final.[75] It was later revealed that Israel placed first out of the fifteen participating countries in the first semi-final with 269 points; 163 points from the public televoting and 106 points from the juries.
Final
Following the semi-final, Israel drew producer's choice for the final.[76] Israel performed in position 3, following the entry from Germany and before the entry from Belgium.[77] Bettan once again took part in dress rehearsals on 15 and 16 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show on 16 May. Israel placed second in the final, scoring 343 points; 220 points from the public televoting and 123 points from the juries.[78]
Each participating broadcaster assembles a seven-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent and two of which have to be between 18 and 25 years old. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[81] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
The following members comprised the Israeli jury:[80]
↑Harari, Amit (2025-06-28). "איגוד השידור האירופי ידון בהדחתה של ישראל מהאירוויזיון"[The European Broadcasting Union will discuss Israel's removal from the Eurovision Song Contest] (in Hebrew). Kan. Retrieved 2025-06-29. כאן, תאגיד השידור הישראלי, מסר: "ישראל משתתפת בתחרות האירוויזיון יותר מ-50 שנה ובהצלחה גדולה. כאן מקפיד לקיים במלואם את כללי התחרות וימשיך לעשות כך. תאגיד השידור הישראלי נערך בימים אלה לתחרות האירוויזיון הבאה באוסטריה".[Kan, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation stated: "Israel has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest for more than 50 years with great success. Kan is committed to fully complying with the rules of the contest and will continue to do so. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation is currently preparing for the next Eurovision Song Contest in Austria."]
↑Boker, Ran (2026-01-20). "נציג ישראל לאירוויזיון 2026: נועם בתן"[Israel's representative for Eurovision 2026: Noam Bettan]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-01-21.
↑Boker, Ran (2026-01-21). "נועם בתן: "דגלי פלסטין ובוז באירוויזיון? אין כוח יותר גדול מעם ישראל""[Noam Bettan: "Palestinian flags and contempt at Eurovision? There is no greater force than the people of Israel"]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-01-21. הזמר שזכה אמש (שלישי) בריאליטי "הכוכב הבא", ישלח שני שירים לוועדה שתבחר את השיר הישראלי לתחרות. "מותר לשלוח שניים - אז אשלח שניים. יש בהם גם צרפתית", אמר בתן, והוסיף בזהירות המתבקשת, "אני סומך על הבחירות של הוועדה".[The singer, who won last night (Tuesday) on the reality show "The Next Star," will send two songs to the committee that will select the Israeli song for the competition. "You are allowed to send two - so I will send two. There is also French in them," said Bettan, adding with the necessary caution, "I trust the committee's choices."]
↑Ek, Torbjörn (2026-05-09). "Israels reklamkupp stoppas i Eurovision"[Israel's advertising coup is stopped at Eurovision]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2026-05-11.
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