Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013

The Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was selected through Kdam Eurovision 2013, the national final format organised by IBA. The competition commenced on 26 February 2013 and concluded with a final on 7 March 2013. All shows took at the Broadcast Studio Complex in Holon, hosted by Ron Shachar and Orna Datz and broadcast on Channel 1 as well as online via Eurovil.[4] The budget for the national final was estimated to be €400,000.[5][6]

The format of the competition consisted of 30 entries competing over five shows: three semi-finals with seven entries each on 26, 27 and 28 February 2013, a Second Chance round on 3 March 2013 and a final on 7 March 2013.[7] From each semi-final, the songs that placed first, second and third qualified directly to the final. Originally, the songs that placed fourth and fifth in each semi-final proceeded to the Second Chance round, however it was later revised to only have the fourth-placed entry in each semi-final proceed to the Second Chance round. An additional entry qualified from the Second Chance round to the final, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to 10.[8][9]

During the five shows, the public could cast their votes through SMS. The results of the semi-finals and the final were determined through a 50/50 combination of votes from the public and the votes of an expert jury panel, while the results of the Second Chance round were determined solely by votes from the public.[10]

IBA opened a public submission period for artists and composers on 31 December 2012 with the deadline on 16 January 2013.[11] All songs submitted were subsequently evaluated by a special committee consisting of music industry professionals that selected thirty artists and songs. The members of the committee were Moshe Morad, Riki Gal, Tomer G, Yossi Gispan, Tal Argaman, Gavri Mazor, Dalit Kahana, Itzik Yehoshua and Roi Yechezkel.[12] The competing acts and the song titles were announced on 29 January 2013, while the competing songs were released online between 19 and 21 February 2013.[13][14][15]

The first semi-final took place on 26 February 2013. "Forever" performed by Shany Zamir, "Love Is One" performed by Ron Weinreich and "Ad elay" performed by Kathleen Reiter qualified directly to the final, while "Hayom" performed by Judah Gavra advanced to the Second Chance round.[16] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Moshe Peretz performed the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 winning song "Hallelujah" as the interval act. The jury panel that voted in the first semi-final consisted of Ilanit (1973 and 1977 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Moshe Datz (1991 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Dafna Dekel (1992 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Uri Paster (theatre and cinema director) and Mira Awad (1992 Israeli Eurovision entrant).[10]

The second semi-final took place on 27 February 2013. "Find a Way" performed by Ran Sandler, "Ten li siman" performed by Moran Mazoz and "We Are Free" performed by Vladi Blayberg qualified directly to the final, while "Replace You" performed by Yarden Tzur advanced to the Second Chance round.[17] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Asaf Hertz and Eleana Tidhar performed the Israeli Eurovision Song Contest 1981 entry "Halayla" as the interval act. The jury panel that voted in the second semi-final consisted of Ilanit (1973 and 1977 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Moshe Datz (1991 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Dafna Dekel (1992 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Uri Paster (theatre and cinema director) and Mira Awad (1992 Israeli Eurovision entrant).[10]

The third semi-final took place on 28 February 2013. "Toda la noche" performed by Meital De Razon & Asi Tal, "Beautiful" performed by Hila Ben David and "Rak bishvilo" performed by Moran Mazor qualified directly to the final, while "We Are One" performed by Nicki Goldstein advanced to the Second Chance round.[18] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Asaf Hertz and Eleana Tidhar performed "Shvil ha'bricha" by Rita as the interval act. The jury panel that voted in the third semi-final consisted of Ilanit (1973 and 1977 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Moshe Datz (1991 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Dafna Dekel (1992 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Uri Paster (theatre and cinema director) and Mira Awad (1992 Israeli Eurovision entrant).[10]

The Second Chance round took place on 3 March 2013. The three entries that placed fourth in the preceding three semi-finals competed and "Hayom" performed by Judah Gavra qualified to the final solely by SMS votes from the public.[19] On 6 March 2013, "We Are One" performed by Nicki Goldstein, who placed second, was also announced to have qualified to the final in order to replace the withdrawal of Kathleen Reiter.[20]

The final took place on 7 March 2013. Ten entries competed during the show. Eight of the entries qualified directly from the semi-finals, while two of the competing entries qualified from the Second Chance round. The winner, "Rak bishvilo" performed by Moran Mazor, was selected by a 50/50 combination of the votes from an expert jury panel and SMS votes from the public. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 301 points to award. Each jury member distributed their points as follows: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 points. The viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 301 points rounded to the nearest integer: 30 points.[1] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Miri Mesika and Shlomi Shabat performed as the interval acts. The jury panel that voted in the final consisted of Ilanit (1973 and 1977 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Moshe Datz (1991 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Dafna Dekel (1992 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Uri Paster (theatre and cinema director), Eldad Shrem (composer of the Israeli Eurovision Song Contest 1977 entry), Sharon Haziz (singer and actress) and Svika Pick (singer and composer of the Israeli Eurovision Song Contest 1998 and 2002 entries).[10]