Israel was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Home", written by Ohad Shragai and Inbar Weitzman, and performed by Kobi Marimi. The Israeli participating broadcaster, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), organised the reality singing competition ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and , to select its performer for the contest, while the song "Home" was internally selected. In addition, Kan was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at Expo Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, after winning the with the song "Toy" performed by Netta.

Background

Prior to the 2019 contest, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) until 2017, and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) in 2018, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Israel forty-one times since IBA's first entry in 1973. They had won the contest on four occasions: in with the song "" performed by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, in with the song "Hallelujah" performed by Milk and Honey, in with the song "" performed by Dana International, and in with the song "Toy" performed by Netta Barzilai. Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, they have failed to reach the final six times. In , "" performed by Shiri Maimon gave them their tenth top five result, finishing fourth. Having failed to qualify for the final for four consecutive years (2011–14), they reached the final for the first time in five years, with "Golden Boy" by Nadav Guedj finishing ninth in , and the country had participated in the final every year since.

The Israeli entry for the 2019 contest was selected through the reality singing competition ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), which was organised by Kan in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions. This was the fifth time that the Israeli entry was selected through a collaboration between these three companies.

Before Eurovision

HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion The singer who would perform the Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was selected through the reality singing competition ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), the original version of the international format Rising Star produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Media Group. had been used since 2015 to select the Israeli artist for Eurovision. The shows were hosted by Assi Azar and Rotem Sela and featured a judging panel composed of Asaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon (2005 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Harel Skaat (2010 Israeli Eurovision entrant) and Static & Ben-El Tavori.

The competition commenced on 24 November 2018 and concluded on 12 February 2019. All shows in the competition were broadcast on as well as online via mako.co.il.

In addition, three showcase programs were broadcast on Kan to determine the song that would represent Israel in 2019. Kan also held an additional show to select one singer to go through to the final of HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion.

Shows Auditions The auditions were broadcast between 24 November 2018 and 1 January 2019. 59 of the 105 contestants advanced to the next phase following achieving at least 70% of the votes while 9 contestants who did not get enough votes to qualify were saved by the hosts.

Among the contestants were Danielle Mazuz, who previously took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 as a backing vocalist and dancer behind Netta, and Maya Bouskilla who was a candidate to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, 2011 and 2012.

On 2 January 2019 one of the originally advanced contestants, Elkana Marziano announced that he would withdraw from the competition.

+ Audition 124 November 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Danielle Mazuz "Happy" — — 90% Advanced 2 Ofri Calfon "Le'esof" — — 93% Advanced 3 Yevgeny Morozov "Shnei meshuga'im" — — 53% Eliminated 4 Shachar Adawi "Wikipedia" — — 89% Advanced 5 Hila Leder "Ex's & Oh's" — — 30% Eliminated 6 Nadav Philips "I Have Nothing" — — 82% Advanced 7 Daniel Barzilai "Osher ledaka" — — 88% Advanced 8 Shalva Band "Here Comes the Sun" — — 91% Advanced + Audition 227 November 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Avraham de Carvalho "Issues" — — 89% Advanced 2 Lior Chen "She'eriot me'atzmi" — — 89% Advanced 3 Shir Azulai "Aba" — — 67% Eliminated 4 Tai "River" — — 92% Advanced 5 Alex Kay "Rolling in the Deep" — — 43% Eliminated 6 Shefita "You Oughta Know" 58% Saved 7 Maya Bouskilla "Listen" — — 82% Advanced + Audition 31 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Osher Biton "Tel Aviv balaila" — — — 85% Advanced 2 Liat Eliyahu "She'tisaref ha'ahava" — — 88% Advanced 3 Ruby Bedalov "Don't Stop Me Now" — — 54% Eliminated 4 Shachaf "Born This Way" — — 76% Advanced 5 Klara Sabag "Mangina" — — 81% Advanced 6 Judith Hasin "River" — — 80% Advanced 7 Elad Tavori "Ve'at" Did not vote Did not vote — — 44% Eliminated + Audition 43 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Gal Binyamin "Hakol over" — — 70% Advanced 2 Barry Brown "You Raise Me Up" — — 78% Advanced + Audition 54 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Naor Cohen "Shemishehu yaatzor oti" — — 85% Advanced 2 Naama Gali Cohen "New Rules" — — 75% Advanced 3 Shay Ben Aroya "Ima im haiti" Did not vote Did not vote — — 46% Eliminated 4 Romi Azar "Creep" 55% Saved 5 Limor Oved "Ve'im preda" — — — 91% Advanced 6 Enosh Tzuberi "Silsulim" — — 30% Eliminated 7 Julia Grinitz "Creep" 59% Saved + Audition 68 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Asaf Maslati "Ma ata rotze mimeni" — — 71% Advanced 2 Eti Bitton "Rak le'ima" — — 83% Advanced 3 Asia and Alexandra "Lost on You" — — 55% Eliminated 4 Roy Sandler "Yeladim ka'ale" — — 82% Advanced 5 Aviv Matka "Me and You" — — 35% Eliminated 6 Sarah Moshaioff "Ein li af echad" — — 90% Advanced 7 Ohad Levi "Tachzeri" — — 49% Eliminated 8 Kobi Marimi "Sweet Dreams" — — 92% Advanced + Audition 711 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Ido Dankner "One Dance / No" — — 70% Advanced 2 Amit Sade "Addicted to You" — — 81% Advanced 3 Tomer Raz "Gvulot hegayon" — — 71% Advanced 4 Maor Kdoshim "Im ha'ita ro'eh" — — 54% Eliminated 5 Gilad Tenzer "Ein yoter tov mize" — — 75% Advanced 6 Meshi and Mor Portal "Ach sheli" Did not vote — — 39% Eliminated 7 Elkana Marziano "Holech li meyuash" — — 77% Withdrew 8 Avivit Doron "Mi yada she'kach yihye" — — — 43% Eliminated + Audition 813 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Niv Yanko "Ha'ahava hazot shelanu" — — 91% Advanced 2 Gavriel Cohen "Ve'im preda" — — — 29% Eliminated 3 Eden Vered Mery "Seven Nation Army" — — 78% Advanced 4 Eliya Gabai "Ahava ka'zo" — — 93% Advanced + Audition 915 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Nave Madmon "Stitches" — — 88% Advanced 2 Yarden Yishai "Albi ma'ak" — — 56% Eliminated 3 Ayala Eligoola "All I Ask" — — 83% Advanced 4 Emanuel Shmuel "Shelach beahava" — — 22% Eliminated 5 Wanna Wanna "Haverot shelach" — — 70% Advanced 6 Tal Versano "Malach sheli" 54% Saved 7 Meni Gross "Bamechonit" — — 66% Eliminated 8 Ketreyah "Mirrors" — — 95% Advanced + Audition 1019 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Alik Manshirov "Ein po makom" — — 76% Advanced 2 Frida Uziel "Vidui" 60% Saved + Audition 1122 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Zohar Shechtman "Shir shel yom chulin" 55% Saved 2 Ilai Chapman "Eich she'at yafa" — — 80% Advanced 3 Osher Saba "Ima im haiti" Did not vote — — 34% Eliminated 4 Noe Sassover "Dangerous Woman" — — — 86% Advanced 5 Shon Bello "Zman tov lishmoah" — — — 40% Eliminated 6 Yagel Yadai "Ein li otcha" — — 77% Advanced 7 Elsie Doll "Friends" — — 36% Eliminated 8 Nitay Twito "Rise Up" — — 92% Advanced + Audition 1225 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Nethanel and Yarden Barzilai "Tsevaim" — — — 70% Advanced 2 Maayan Brinza "Leilotai" Did not vote — — 46% Eliminated 3 Shira Givony "If I Were a Boy" — — 72% Advanced 4 Or Ben Atar "Achrei hakol mitgagea" — — 94% Advanced 5 Meital Locke "Haderech el hakfar" — — — 66% Eliminated 6 Avi Ashur "Eten lach" — — — 79% Advanced 7 Sofia Makovkina "Highway to Hell" — — 39% Eliminated 8 Ihab Atila "Eten lach shanim" — — — 85% Advanced + Audition 1329 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Rotem Chen "Osher ledaka" — — 80% Advanced 2 Tchelet Perlmutter "Soon We'll Be Found" — — 86% Advanced 3 Dana Hertz "Rise Up" — — 57% Eliminated 4 Noa Klein "Over the Rainbow" — — — 88% Advanced 5 Los Caparos "Nachon lehayom" — — 70% Advanced 6 Daniela Lamash "Make You Feel My Love" — — 44% Eliminated 7 Ofek Adanek "She'at zaza" Did not vote Did not vote 50% Saved + Audition 1430 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Tali Rabinovich "Dangerous Woman" — — — 81% Advanced 2 Itai Goren "Hey at" — — 24% Eliminated 3 Yuval Shauli "Warrior" 59% Saved 4 Immanuel Spiker "Part of Your World" — — 59% Eliminated 5 Dili "Hasholef meBagdad" — — 25% Eliminated 6 Bar Cohen "Kshe'halachta" — — 81% Advanced + Audition 1531 December 2018 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Avigal Reef Cohen "Migdalor" — — 73% Advanced 2 Ben Ganon "Zer kisufim" — — 50% Eliminated 3 Ariella Siman Tov "Lo ohev oti yoter" — — — 82% Advanced 4 Roy Pinhasov "Al taslicheni l'et zikna" — — 68% Eliminated 5 Yakir Rada "Alfei sipurim" Did not vote Did not vote Did not vote Did not vote — — 29% Eliminated 6 Osher Davidian "Nizacht iti hakol" — — 88% Advanced + Audition 161 January 2019 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Presenters' Vote Score Result 1 Marie Ben Haim "Yesh bi od koach" 67% Saved 2 Mazal Kav "Latch" — — 73% Advanced 3 Michal Shavo "Your Love (Keeps Me Alive)" — — 18% Eliminated 4 Elisete Ritter "Mas que Nada" — — 22% Eliminated 5 Gadi Sulimanov "Nagia rachok" — Did not vote — — 63% Eliminated 6 Natalie Wamba Berry "Crazy" — — — 83% Advanced 7 Amir and Shahar Exol "Katonti" — — — 66% Eliminated 8 Ana Eliya Ben David "Nigun haneshamot" — — — 45% Eliminated 9 Zohar Garala "Lomedet lalechet" — — 78% Advanced

Shortlisting rounds The shortlisting rounds were broadcast between 7 and 10 January 2019. 20 of the 67 contestants advanced to the next phase of the competition. The results were decided with the same method as in the auditions with the only difference that votes in this round were cast solely by the judges, therefore each judge could add 20% to the contestant's final score. Each shortlisting round consisted of two rounds: in the first round all contestants performed behind the wall. The contestants with a score of at least 60% advanced to the second round where the judges decided which contestants advance to the next phase of the competition.

+ Shortlisting Round 17 January 2019 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Score Result 1 Lior Chen "Sipur machur" Did not vote 80% Advanced 2 Maya Bouskilla "Wrecking Ball" 100% Advanced 3 Shefita "Karma Police" 80% Advanced 4 Tal Versano "Osher ledaka" 20% Eliminated 5 Tai "High Hopes" 80% Advanced 6 Nadav Philips "Paparazzi" 60% Eliminated 7 Ariella Siman Tov "Chelek mimcha" 20% Eliminated 8 Ayala Eligoola "Shallow" 80% Eliminated 9 Osher Biton "Yam shel dmaot" 80% Advanced + Shortlisting Round 28 January 2019 Draw Artist Song Judges' Vote Score Result 1 Klara Sabag "Who You Are" 80% Advanced 2 Daniel Barzilai "I'm Not the Only One" 100% Advanced 3 Frida Uziel "Wicked Game" Did not vote 20% Eliminated 4 Naor Cohen "Etz yarok miplastik" 80% Advanced 5 Naama Gali Cohen "Crazy in Love" 60% Advanced 6 Ido Dankner "...Baby One More Time" 60% Eliminated 7 Romi Azar "Help!" 20% Eliminated 8 Shalva Band "Eich efshar shelo" 100% Advanced