Eurovision Song Contest 2005

The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place at the Palace of Sports in Kiev, Ukraine, following Ruslana's win in the 2004 Contest with the song "Wild Dances". The contest consisted of two shows: the semi-final and final, which took place on 19 and 21 May 2005, respectively. The shows were hosted by Maria Efrosinina and Pavlo Shylko. Thirty-nine countries participated, including the débuts of Bulgaria and Moldova and the return of Hungary, which was last represented in 1998.

Organizers hoped that this event would boost Ukraine's image abroad and increase tourism, while the country's new government hoped that it would also give a modest boost to the long-term goal of acquiring European Union membership.

The winner for 2005 was Greece with the song "My Number One" performed by Helena Paparizou, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou, both successful singer-songwriters in Greece. It scored 230 points, beating Malta into second place by a margin of 38 points. This was the first victory for Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest. Romania, Israel and Latvia rounded out the top five. The "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom) ended up as the "Last Four", all placing in the bottom four position of the scoreboard in the final.

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

Israel was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 by Shiri Maimon's and the song "Hasheket Shenish'ar" (The Silence That Remained).

Kdam Eurovision 2005

For the first time since 2001, a full-scale Israeli selection process was held on 2 March. Unlike previous years, IBA invited only established artists to participate. Among the better-known participants were Shiri Maimon (runner-up of the popular Pop Idol based show, Kokhav Nolad in 2003) as well as Svika Pick, composer and producer of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest winner Diva. Shiri Maimon's song "Hasheket Shenish'ar" (The Silence That Remained) won the event to become Israel's entry in Kiev. The song is written by Pini Aaronbayev and Eyal Shachar and composed by Pini Aaronbayev.

Result of the national final

At Eurovision

At Eurovision, the song was presented in English and Hebrew. The spokesperson who revealed Israel's votes for other countries was journalist Dana Herman.

Points Awarded by Israel

Israel

Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35

Israel (/ˈɪzreɪəl/ or /ˈɪzriːəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎ Isrāʼīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Medīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: دولة إِسْرَائِيل‎ Dawlat Isrāʼīl [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a country in the Middle East, situated at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories (which are claimed by the State of Palestine and are partially controlled by Israel) comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's financial and technology center is Tel Aviv, while Jerusalem is both its self-designated capital (unrecognised by the United Nations) and its most populous individual city under the country's governmental administration. Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally disputed.

Israel (footballer)

Israel David Bascón Gigato (born 16 March 1987 in Utrera, Seville), known simply as Israel, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder.

Club career

Betis

A product of Real Betis's youth system, Israel made his debut for the first team against Real Sociedad, on 16 March 2005 (nine minutes, 0–1 away loss). During the 2004–05 season he made a further seven La Liga appearances, adding three in the Spanish Cup, where he scored his first goal for the Andalusians, against CD Mirandés.

In the following campaign Israel played again in just eight matches, all but one as a substitute, while also appearing in both European competitions, coming from the bench against Liverpool and R.S.C. Anderlecht in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

During the 2006 off-season, in August, vastly underplayed at Betis due to the presence of Joaquín in his position, Israel spent time at Chelsea on trial after a move to Real Madrid Castilla failed to materialise. His trial was unsuccessful, however, and the player then left for Mérida UD on a loan deal.

Land of Israel

The Land of Israel (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל ʼÉreṣ Yiśrāʼēl, Eretz Yisrael) is one of several names for an area of indefinite geographical extension in the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (q.v. Israel (disambiguation)). The definitions of the limits of this territory vary between passages in the Hebrew Bible, with specific mentions in Genesis 15, Exodus 23, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47. Nine times elsewhere in the Bible, the settled land is referred as "from Dan to Beersheba, and three times it is referred as "from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt” (1 Kings 8:65, 1 Chronicles 13:5 and 2 Chronicles 7:8).".

These biblical limits for the land differ from the borders of established historical Israelite and later Jewish kingdoms; over time these have included the United Kingdom of Israel, the two separated kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah, the Hasmonean Kingdom, and the Herodian Kingdom, which at their heights ruled lands with similar but not identical boundaries.