Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

On 11 January 2009, IBA announced that Achinoam Nini, under the artistic name Noa, and Mira Awad were selected as the Israeli representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. This was the first time an Israeli Arab singer had been selected to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest.[4][5] A professional committee with members from IBA considered several artists, of which Harel Skaat, Marina Maximillian Blumin and Maya Bouskilla were invited to participate before Noa and Awad were ultimately selected.[6][7] Negotiations with Skaat broke down due to a legal dispute with his former record label Hed Arzi Music which forbade him from recording any new material, while Blumin and Bouskilla had turned down the offer to represent Israel due to issues with their current military services in the Israeli army.[8][9][10] The members of the committee were Yoav Ginai (entertainment director of IBA), Noam Gil-Or (director of Reshet Gimmel), Izchak Sonnenschein (Head of Israeli Eurovision delegation), Yuval Ganor (director of 88FM) and Galya Giladi (music editor and presenter at 88FM).[11] It was also announced that a national final titled Kdam Eurovision 2009 featuring four songs would take place to select their song.

Kdam Eurovision 2009 logo

Four songs, all written by Noa, Mira Awad and Gil Dor and performed in English, Hebrew and Arabic, were provided by the performers for the competition "with the goal of using Eurovision as a means to convey a message of peace in these difficult times", as stated by Noa in regards to the competing songs.[12] Prior to the final, the songs were presented on 24 February 2009 during a special presentation programme broadcast via radio on Reshet Gimmel, hosted by Avi Etgar.[13]

The final took place on 2 March 2009 at the Nakdi TV Studios in Jerusalem, hosted by Eden Harel and broadcast on Channel 1 as well as online via IBA's official Eurovision Song Contest website Eurovil. The show was also broadcast via radio in Hebrew on Reshet Gimmel and in Arabic on Reshet Dalet.[14] All four competing songs were performed by Noa and Mira Awad and the winning song, "Einaiych (There Must Be Another Way)", was selected by a combination of the votes from four voting groups: two regional juries (30%), an expert jury of IBA representatives (30%) and a public vote (40%). The public vote that took place during the show was conducted through telephone and SMS.[15][16] The singers described "There Must Be Another Way" not as a song of peace, but as a song that emphasises hope and understanding through common humanity and a call to respect the humanity of others.[17]

There was some controversy about the duo performing together for Eurovision. Several Jewish and Arab local artists and intellectuals called for Awad to step down because, in their view, her participation would convey a false impression of national coexistence that would be used to cover up the deaths of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.[18] In an interview on National Public Radio, Awad acknowledged this criticism, and said, "We're not naïve enough to think that we're representing any existing situation. We are trying to show a possible situation that we believe is possible if we just make the necessary efforts."[17]

Noa and Mira Awad during the first semi-final winners' press conference

Noa and Mira Awad took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. This included the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Israeli performance featured Noa and Mira Awad both performing in black dresses and boots together with a tin drummer, a guitarist and a tambourine and cymbal player. The performance began with Noa and Awad standing on opposite sides of the stage performing the song acapella. The musicians joined Noa and Awad during the performance and formed a round, after which the singers left to play the drums together and concluded the performance by holding hands. The stage was set in dark blue colors with the LED screens displaying a big orange rose at the end of the performance.[21][22] Among the three musicians performing on stage with Noa and Awad was the co-composer of "There Must Be Another Way" Gil Dor.[23]

At the end of the show, Israel was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Israel placed seventh in the semi-final, receiving a total of 75 points.[24]

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order of the final. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Israel was drawn to perform in position 2, following the entry from Lithuania and before the entry from France.

Noa and Mira Awad 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. Noa and Mira Awad performed a repeat of his semi-final performance during the final on 16 May. Israel placed sixteenth in the final, scoring 53 points.[25]

The voting system for 2009 involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12, with the points in the final being decided by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, 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.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Israel had placed twenty-fifth (last) with the public televote and ninth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Israel scored 15 points, while with the jury vote, Israel scored 107 points.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Israel and awarded by Israel in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Iceland in the semi-final and to Norway in the final of the contest.

The following members comprised the Israeli jury:[28]

• Moshe Morad – music editor, IBA radio presenter
• Haya Zell – IBA musical archive manager
• Nurit Bat Shahar Zafrir – lyricist
• Tahel Zimmerman – musician
• Itamar Barak – journalist

Detailed voting results from Israel (Final)[29][30]

Draw	Country	Results			Points
		Jury	Televoting	Combined
01	Lithuania
02	Israel
03	France	8		8	5
04	Sweden
05	Croatia	3		3
06	Portugal
07	Iceland	12	7	19	10
08	Greece
09	Armenia	6	5	11	8
10	Russia		10	10	7
11	Azerbaijan		8	8	6
12	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1		1
13	Moldova	4	1	5	1
14	Malta	2		2
15	Estonia		4	4
16	Denmark
17	Germany
18	Turkey	7		7	3
19	Albania
20	Norway	10	12	22	12
21	Ukraine		6	6	2
22	Romania		3	3
23	United Kingdom	5	2	7	4
24	Finland
25	Spain