Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Israel first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 after joining the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the alliance of public broadcasting bodies whose membership determines eligibility for the contest.[6] Before the 2006 contest, Israel had won Eurovision three times.[7]

Israel entered 2006 following a strong performance by Shiri Maimon, who finished fourth in 2005. That result gave Israel a direct place in the 2006 final without requiring it to compete in a semifinal.[4]

Israel chose its representative through Kdam Eurovision, a live televised national competition held in Jerusalem.[8] The field began with 16 eligible submissions, five of which were withdrawn before the broadcast, leaving 11 songs in the televised competition.[9] Viewers chose the winner through telephone and text-message voting.[8]

The contestants included Eddie Butler, the Gameboys, Zvika Pik, Avi Peretz, Diamond’z, and Lubna Salame.[9] Salame, a Christian Arab from the western Galilee, was scheduled to perform "Mother Earth," a three-language, peace-oriented collaboration with Jewish musicians Shlomo Gronich and Michal Adler. Had she won, she would have become Israel’s first Arab Eurovision representative.[9]

Butler won with "זה הזמן" ("It’s Time"), receiving 99 points and defeating his principal rivals, the Game Boys and the Diamonds.[1] His agents, Yoav Gross and Roberto, had entered him without his prior knowledge and told him only afterward. Butler wrote the lyrics with Orly Borg and Osnat Tzabag and composed the music himself.[1] After winning, he said: "I didn’t serve in the army in Israel and now I have an opportunity to repay the debt to the country I love so much."[1]

Butler was 34 at the time of the contest. He was born in Israel to American parents who had come from Chicago and settled in Dimona, and contemporary reporting identified him with the Black Hebrew community.[1][10] The National Library of Israel states that most members of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem live in the "Village of Peace," an urban kibbutz in Dimona in the Negev Desert.[2]

Butler had previously represented Israel as a member of Eden, which performed "Yom Huledet/Happy Birthday" in 1999 and placed fifth.[1] The National Library records Eden’s 1999 entry and Butler’s 2006 solo appearance as the community’s two Eurovision representations.[2] The 2006 contest was therefore Butler’s second Eurovision appearance for Israel.

The Eurovision final took place in Athens, Greece, on May 20, 2006.[11][1] Butler performed third in the running order and was accompanied by four backup singers dressed in white.[3][10]

Sources use different titles for the entry. Butler won the Israeli selection with the Hebrew title "זה הזמן" ("It’s Time"), while the National Library of Israel lists the Eurovision entry as "Together We Are One."[1][2] Contemporary Jerusalem Post reports rendered the Hebrew title as both "Zeh Hazman" and "Ze Hazman," with one glossing it as "This is the time."[10][12]

The song was described as an uplifting rhythm-and-blues number, and Butler’s performance was characterized as confident and clean-cut.[10] A later retrospective noted that he had impressed during rehearsals and that journalists had identified him as a possible underdog, although the final result did not match that attention.[4]

Israel finished 23rd out of 24 countries with four points, all awarded by France.[4][5] France placed the entry seventh in its national ranking, which produced the four-point award. Israel received no points from any other country and finished ahead only of Malta.[10]

Finland’s Lordi won with "Hard Rock Hallelujah," contrasting its black capes and battle-axe imagery with Butler’s all-white presentation.[10][5] Finland received 292 points, followed by Russia with 248 and Bosnia with 229; the victory was Finland’s first at Eurovision.[10]

The placing contrasted with the positive attention Butler had received during rehearsals and with Maimon’s fourth-place finish the previous year.[4] Another Israeli singer, Liel Kolet, participated in the same contest as part of the Swiss delegation.[4]

Director Zadi Tzarfati later criticized the television camera work rather than the staging. He recalled that the broadcast opened with Butler lying on a piano while the camera filmed him "through the shoes," and said that roughly half the song had been filmed before Butler managed to sit on the piano.[5]

Later retrospectives have emphasized the gap between Butler’s encouraging rehearsal reception and his second-to-last finish. A 2013 history of Israel at Eurovision recalled his direct qualification, positive rehearsals, possible underdog status, and four points from France.[4] A 2026 running-order retrospective likewise recorded that Butler performed third and finished 23rd, placing the entry within a broader comparison of Israeli contestants assigned that position.[3]