A-Ba-Ni-Bi

“A-Ba-Ni-Bi” combines Hebrew children’s wordplay with a musical setting blending disco, funk, and Middle Eastern elements.[4] Its Eurovision performance by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta was upbeat and distinguished the song from more traditional entries in the competition.[4] Nurit Hirsh composed and arranged the music, while Ehud Manor wrote the lyrics.[1]

The song’s success extended beyond its contest victory: it became popular across Europe and remained a cultural touchstone in Israel.[4][1] It also spent several weeks on the British singles chart.[3] Its international afterlife included a French-language recording by Rika Zaraï in 1978 and a Thai-language version later heard in The White Lotus.[5][6]

Ehud Manor’s initial idea was to write a children’s festival song using the Bet language he had known during his childhood in Binyamina.[1] He telephoned Hirsh with the proposal, and the two reportedly developed the song through several calls over the course of one day.[3] Hirsh recalled suggesting “I love you” in the coded language—rendered as “Av-nibi obohevav ovotavakh”—and singing a melody to Manor, who then wrote the verses.[1]

The completed song was redirected from the children’s festival to the Song and Chorus Festival, which served as Israel’s Eurovision selection competition.[1] Manor’s wife, Ofra Fox, encouraged its submission to that festival.[1] Before Cohen became its singer, the song was offered to Hakol Over Habibi, whose members rejected it as too childish and inconsistent with their style.[7] Fox then suggested Cohen as its performer.[8]

A demonstration recording was made at Triton Studios in Tel Aviv and submitted to the 1978 festival.[1] Hirsh recalled that Cohen’s performance on the recording was so impressive that the creators decided he should also sing the song at the festival.[1] The accompanying group, Alpha Beta, consisted of Reuven Erez, Lisa Gold-Rubin, Nehama Shotan, Esther Tzabari, and Yitzhak Okev.[1]

At the national selection in Jerusalem, “A-Ba-Ni-Bi” and Hadva Amrani’s “Belav Echad,” also known as “Salaam Aleikum,” each received 66 points.[1] “A-Ba-Ni-Bi” prevailed because it had received more first-place votes, sending Cohen and Alpha Beta to Paris.[1]

The Eurovision final took place on April 22, 1978, at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.[1] Hirsh conducted the orchestra for the performance, as well as having composed the song.[2] Israel received 157 points and won the contest for the first time.[1][2] Every participating country except Sweden awarded Israel points; Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Turkey each awarded it 12 points.[9]

The victory surprised the song’s creators: Hirsh recalled that neither she nor Manor had expected to win and that Manor had initially been reluctant to travel to Paris.[10] As Israel’s points accumulated, she urged him to change into a suit borrowed from her husband.[10] Manor later recalled having arrived in jeans and sandals and exchanging clothes in the green room so that he could appear onstage for the victory ceremony.[11]

The refrain’s declaration of love is expressed through the Hebrew children’s code known as “the language of the bet.”[1][7] The song’s central linguistic device thus came directly from children’s coded speech, the subject Manor and Hirsh had chosen for their original festival idea.[1]

The arrangement was disco-oriented, drawing inspiration from the Bee Gees and the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever.[8] Its combination of disco, funk, and Middle Eastern musical elements accompanied Cohen and the Alphabeta’s energetic performance.[4] At Eurovision, the song appeared 18th in a field of 20 entries, with Cohen and the group delivering a lively presentation suited to its disco arrangement.[1] Although Hakol Over Habibi had declined the song because of its childish character, the same composition went on to win both Israel’s national selection and Eurovision.[7]

Hirsh’s involvement extended across composition, arrangement, and orchestral direction.[1][2] The song also followed her earlier Eurovision entry, “Ei-sham,” which had finished fourth in 1973.[12]

The 1978 victory brought Israel the right to host Eurovision the following year.[13] The next contest took place in Jerusalem, where Israel won again with “Hallelujah.”[7] “A-Ba-Ni-Bi” was therefore the first of two consecutive Israeli winning entries.[7][13]

The song brought international fame to Cohen and an international following to Manor.[1][14] Its European success included several weeks on the British singles chart, while in Israel it was named Song of the Year in the annual Galey Tzahal hit parade.[3][8] Manor’s wider songwriting career encompassed an estimated 1,200 songs and another 600 works translated into Hebrew.[14]

The song also became part of the Israeli popular-music repertoire remembered from American Jewish camps and youth programs during a period when Israeli songs were widely introduced in those settings.[15] Reflecting on those memories, Jeffrey K. Salkin described it as “an exercise in pure fun based on jumbled Hebrew sentences.”[15]

Over time, the song was recorded in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, and Indian versions and became a hit in Iceland and Malaysia.[1] French singer Rika Zaraï recorded a French-language version in 1978.[5] Decades later, a Thai-language version appeared briefly in the fourth episode of The White Lotus in 2025.[6] The song continued to be regarded as an Israeli classic and a beloved cultural touchstone.[4][13]

Jordanian television reportedly interrupted its live Eurovision broadcast as an Israeli victory became apparent, leaving images of flowers on the screen.[1][7] Accounts of the aftermath also report that Jordanian media subsequently named Belgium, rather than Israel, as the winner.[7]

Israeli viewers also missed the live announcement for a different reason: Channel 1 had purchased satellite time only until 1 a.m., and its transmission ended about ten minutes before the victory was declared.[1]