For the exhibition One More Beat at the Knesset Museum, as part of the 2026 Outline Jerusalem Festival.
Aya Talshir | Pulses of Representation
Aya Talshir revisits real-life encounters between the Knesset and the Eurovision Song Contest, from the 1970s to the present day. Through moments in which Israel’s representatives sparked pride, controversy, criticism, or embarrassment, she examines who represents Israel and who determines how it is seen by the outside world. In this work, Eurovision becomes a space where popular culture, politics, and Israeli identity intersect and evolve over the years.
Curator:
Gilad Seliktar
In December 1976, members of the Knesset debated whether it was appropriate to send singer Ilanit to Eurovision, despite the competition taking place on the evening of the Passover Seder.
In 1998, Dana International was invited to visit the Knesset following her Eurovision victory, where she was also presented with a certificate of appreciation.
In her speech, Dana said: “There is a free, democratic Israel that believes in and respects individual rights, freedom of artistic expression, democracy, and everything it stands for. I want to encourage you to continue fighting, and not allow any extremist groups to put an end to freedom of expression and democracy in this country. Because without democracy, there is no Israel.”
In May 2000, the Knesset plenum convened to draw urgent conclusions following the Eurovision performance by representatives of the band PingPong.
The performance was described as “a disgrace and an embarrassment to Israeli Hebrew music, a mockery and humiliation of national representation,” and it was also said that “the performance of the song ‘Sameach’ was deeply sad.”
In 2018, the planned split of the Israeli public broadcaster Kan was cancelled in order to prevent jeopardizing Israel’s hosting of Eurovision the following year, following Netta Barzilai’s victory.