Israel Song Festival () was an annual music competition organized by the Israel Broadcasting Authority. In its final years, it served as the national final to select 's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.
History The idea for the competition came from Kol Yisrael producer Israel Daliyot after seeing people celebrating Domenico Modugno's victory in the Sanremo Music Festival 1959 while on vacation in Rome.ישראל דליות, אבי פסטיבל הזמר והפזמון Tamar Zinman, 19 November 2018, The National Library of Israel Daliyot approached the Israel Broadcasting Authority, and with the involvement of the Prime Minister's Office, the first festival was held as part of the 1960 Independence Day celebrations.
The festival became an annual fixture in the Independence Day celebration over the following years, although it was not held in 1962, 1962 and 1968, when it was replaced by other variety shows. In 1975, the festival was cancelled by then IBA director-general Yitzhak Livni, as he considered the festival's songs to be of low quality,ביאליק היה מתהפך בקברו: ההיסטוריה האבסורדית של פסטיבלי הזמר והפזמון Ben Shalev, 18 September 2015, HaAretz and was replaced by another singing festival that didn't air to television. In 1976, there was another replacement called "The Singing Celebration", which worked differently; there was no competition, and the participants performed two songs each, one previously released song and one new song. The festival was reinstated in 1977, and by the following year it was designated as the national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest, and until the festival was cancelled, in 1981, the competition was held between January and March.
After the 1980 edition, the competition was replaced by Kdam Eurovision as the national final for Eurovision. Attempts were made to reinstate the competition, first in 1987, as part of the Arad Hebrew Music Festival, with three further attempts in 2000–2001, 2005–2006 and 2013.
Format Between 1960 and 1966, each song was performed twice, once by a male singer and once by a female singer, in order to give emphasis on the song itself rather the performer. In 1967, the format was changed so each song was performed once. Following the main competition, an intermission was held during which the viewers could vote for their favorite song, while an interval act was performed. In 1969, votes from five ballots around Israel were added to the total of votes.
Winners Year Song Artist Lyricist Composer 1960 "Erev Ba" (ערב בא) Aliza Kashi, Shimon Bar Oded Avisar Arie Levanon 1961 "Saeni Imcha" (שאני עמך) Esther Ofarim, Gideon Singer Pnina Avni Zvi Avni 1964 "Yaldati Imri" (ילדתי אמרי) & Nechama Hendel, Rinat Choir Moshe Dor 1965 "Ayelet HaChen" (איילת החן) Arik Einstein, Yafa Yarkoni Oded Betzer Nathan Shachar 1966 "Leil Stav" (ליל סתיו) Arik Einstein, Yafa Yarkoni Haya Cohen Haim Tzur 1967 "Mi Yode'a Kama" (מי יודע כמה) Mike Burstyn Rimona Di-Nur Ya'akov Hollander 1969 "Balada LaChovesh" (בלדה לחובש) Yehoram Gaon Dan Almagor Shimon Cohen 1970 "Pit'om Achshav, Pit'om HaYom" (פתאום עכשיו, פתאום היום) Shlomo Artzi Tirza Atar Ya'akov Hollander 1971 "Rak HaYare'ach" (רק הירח) Ilanit Shimrit Orr Dan Amihud 1972 "Tov Li LaShir" (טוב לי לשיר) HaTov, HaRa VeHana'ara Ehud Manor Shmulik Kraus 1973 "At VeAni Noladnu BeTashach"(את ואני נולדנו בתש"ח) Edna Lev Moti Giladi Yigal Bashan 1974 "HaBalada Al Baruch Jamili" (הבלדה על ברוך ג'מילי) Shlomo Artzi and Mrs. Apple Group Shlomo Artzi Gidi Koren 1977 "Rakefet" (רקפת) Ruhama Raz Talma Alyagon-Rose Moni Amarillo 1978 "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (אבניבי) Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta Ehud Manor Nurit Hirsh 1979 "Hallelujah" (הללויה) Milk and Honey Shimrit Orr Kobi Oshrat 1980 "Pizmon Hozer" (פזמון חוזר) The Brothers & the Sisters Gidi Koren Gidi Koren 1987 "Yona Im Aleh Shel Za'it" (יונה עם עלה של זית) Southern Command Entertainment Group Talma Alyagon-Rose Talma Alyagon-Rose 2000 "Tfilat HaOr" (תפילת האור) Aki Avni & Haya Samir Nurit Bat Shachar-Tzafrir Yoshi Sade 2001 "Rikud HaChayim" (ריקוד החיים) Keren Shani Avner Eshkol Itzhak Eliezrov 2005 "Mishehu Gadol" (מישהו גדול) Shay Gabso Hana Goldberg Dudi Levi 2006 "Im At BaInyan" (אם את בעניין) Malta Baya Assaf Shalem Yair Eldar 2013 "Tachzeri" (תחזרי) Pe'er Tasi Pe'er Tasi Dudu Matana
Presenters Years Presenter(s) 1960–1971 1972 Yossi Banai and Rivka Michaeli 1973–1980 Rivka Michaeli 1987 Daniel Pe'er 2000 Moni Moshonov and Miki Kam 2001 Moni Moshonov and Yael Abecassis 2005 Erez Tal and Adi Ashkenazi 2006 Rivka Michaeli and Alma Zack 2013
References
External links The Festivals