Israel was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 by Shiri Maimon and the song "Hasheket Shenish'ar" (The Silence That Remained). The song was written by Pini Aaronbayev and Eyal Shachar and composed by Pini Aaronbayev
Before Eurovision
Kdam Eurovision 2005
Kdam Eurovision 2005 was be the national final format developed by IBA in order to select Israel's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. For the first time since 2001, Kdam Eurovision 2005 returned as a full-scale selection.
Competing artists
Unlike previous years, the competition only featured established artists directly invited by IBA. Among the better-known participants were Shiri Maimon, runner-up of the popular Pop Idol based show Kokhav Nolad in 2003, as well as Svika Pick, composer and producer of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest winner "Diva".
Final
The final took place on 2 March 2005 at the Neve Ilan TV Studios in Jerusalem, hosted by Moran Atias and Didi Harrari. Fourteen songs competed and the winner was determined by a combination of the votes from five regional juries (50%) and five televoting regions (50%).
Because Israel failed to qualify in 2004 Shiri had to compete in the Eurovision semi-final, at ESC, the song was presented in English and Hebrew. She performed seven, following Monaco and preceding Belarus she qualified from 7th place with 158 points. In the final she performed 11th following Spain and preceding Serbia and Montenegro came 4th with 154 points (including a maximum 12 from Monaco), meaning that Israel automatically qualified for the final in the 2006 contest. The spokesperson who revealed Israel's votes for other countries was journalist Dana Herman.[1]
Israel
