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Israel to Host Iconic 'Eurovision' Competition - What it is and Why It's Significant

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The 2019 Eurovision Song Contest  – the longest running international television contest – will take place this year in Tel Aviv from May 14, with the final competition on May 18.  Many Israelis are excited about it.

Each year, countries from Europe and elsewhere pick their best performer to send to the Eurovision Song Contest.  And themes of the songs can include ANYTHING and EVERYTHING (except anything political or commericial) and "no swearing or unacceptable language" allowed!

Eurovision has been around for more than sixty years and has broadcast live every year since its beginnings in 1956. When it started it was intended to test the limits of live television broadcast technology. And it worked.

It’s one of the longest running television programs.  And, sports aside, it’s one of the most viewed events in the world, with an international audience estimated between 100-600 million.

A maximum of 44 countries are allowed to compete. Israel is allowed to participate because it’s a member of the European Broadcasting Union that hosts the contest.

The public gets to vote on the contestants by what they call televoting (by telephone or SMS) for the songs of countries other than their place of residence.  The country of the winner is then privileged to hold the competition the next year.

Last year, Israel’s Netta Barzilai won the competition with her song ”Toy”.  It was the fourth time Israel has won since it began participating in the 1970s. 

In 1979, Israel’s “Hallelujah” won the contest.  It’s still an Israeli favorite today.  

CBN News caught up with Netta at a meeting of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem.

“I love Judaism,” Netta said, though she said she wouldn’t describe herself as traditional.  “It has so many beautiful messages inside it….I’m Jewish and I love being Jewish.”

We asked Netta what part God plays in her life.

“Wow, I’ve actually never been asked that. I don’t know.  Sometimes I feel it. Sometimes I don’t feel it. Sometimes the world is too cruel to believe that someone is in charge,” she said.

“You’re very positive. But there’s a lot of bad in the world. How do you frame that for yourself?” we asked her.

“As long as you do good stuff, then the better it gets for everyone. I see my actions (have) positive responses and I’m going to keep doing that. But I keep trying to make the world a better place,” she said.

Eurovision events are already taking place in Israel.  Participants and fans are already here visiting various sites in Israel.  An added bonus:  Israelis opened their homes to host the visitors for Shabbat (Friday night) dinners.

Next week, there are two semi-final song competitions. 

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About The Author

Julie Stahl
Julie
Stahl

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel full-time for more than 20 years. Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN – first as a graduate student in Journalism, then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91, and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009. As a correspondent for CBN News, Julie has covered Israel’s wars with Gaza, rocket attacks on Israeli communities, stories on the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and the