Israel in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2012

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest had been running since 2003 and was open to contestants aged 10 to 15; Israel entered for the first time in 2012.[1] The Israel Broadcasting Authority and Channel 1's Department of Children and Youth sponsored the 2012 entry, with department director Danielle Gardos Santo leading the delegation to Amsterdam.[3] Gardos Santo noted that expense had been the primary obstacle to earlier participation, but that the current management had made it a priority.[3]

The contest's 2012 theme was "Breaking the Ice," a phrase that referred both to Amsterdam's winter weather and to the idea of thawing relations between peoples of different countries.[3] Organizers chose to send a group rather than a solo performer; Gardos Santo explained the reasoning in terms of shared responsibility: "From an education and psychological viewpoint, we didn't want all the burden to fall on one child. Here, the tension, anxiety and sense of responsibility is shared among six."[3]

The two-month selection process was led by producer Tali Eshcol.[3] Children from across Israel were identified or recommended by the Ministry of Education and local-authority youth departments, and more than 60 hopefuls were invited to audition at the Petah Tikva Cultural Hall.[3][4] A professional committee assessed candidates on performance confidence, singing ability, and capacity to work as a team; the panel included representatives of the Education Ministry and the Israel Broadcasting Authority, artists Ohad Hitman, Dafna Dekel, and Benny Nadler, and a representative of the National Council of Students and Youth.[3][4] The committee first narrowed the field to 12 finalists before selecting the final six.[3]

One of the contest's more memorable moments came during the selection itself. After the list of 12 finalists was read aloud, 11-year-old Tali Sorokin's name was mistakenly omitted, and she went home believing she had not advanced.[3] Her mother later received a call clarifying the confusion — Sorokin had not merely made the top 12; she was already confirmed as one of the final six heading to Amsterdam.[3] Sorokin recalled running around the house screaming upon hearing the news.[3]

KIDS.IL comprised six children from several Israeli cities.[2] The members were Adi Mesilati, 14, from Kfar Saba; Adal Korshov, 11, from Oranit; Daniel Pruzanski, 13, from Rosh HaAyin; Adi Biti, 11, from Hod HaSharon; Libi Panker, 14, from Rosh HaAyin; and Tali Sorokin, 11, from Rehovot.[2] Three of the members — Biti, Korshov, and Panker — were graduates of the Israeli television program "School of Music" (Hebrew: בית ספר למוסיקה).[2] Pruzanski, the only boy in the group, was also the soloist of the Hasidic children's group Kinderlach.[4][5]

The group's song, "Let the Music Win," was written especially for the Israeli delegation by singer-songwriter Ohad Hitman, the nephew of children's entertainer Uzi Hitman.[3] The composition process was notably collaborative: the children wrote down possible lines, words, and themes, and Hitman assembled their contributions into the finished song and created its melody.[5] Hitman stated that 80 percent of the final lyrics were based entirely on what the children had written, and that it was the children themselves who proposed incorporating multiple languages.[3] The song was performed mainly in Hebrew, with phrases in English, French, and Russian.[3] Member Libi Panker described the central idea: "We want to break down barriers between people, communities, and countries through music."[5]

Preparation in the month before the contest was intensive. The group spent practically every afternoon rehearsing with Hitman, learning choreography, and recording a music video clip.[3] Studio sessions ran eight or nine hours a day, and Hitman described the children as disciplined and mutually supportive throughout.[3] Member Adi Biti noted that the full preparation process also included stage positioning, vocal coaching, and costume work, while Adal Korshov explained that the song and video had to be submitted to the Amsterdam committee as the group's first formal entry into the competition.[5]

A lighter moment during rehearsals became part of the group's identity. When Korshov struggled to hit high notes because of a sore throat, Hitman tried to ease the tension with a deliberately morbid joke about everyone eventually dying and being eaten by worms. The children laughed, and the line became their running joke and a way to cope with setbacks — they even briefly considered calling themselves "the Worms."[5]

The tenth Junior Eurovision Song Contest took place on December 1, 2012, in Amsterdam, with Channel 1 broadcasting the event live in Israel.[2] KIDS.IL performed "Let the Music Win" before an international audience and also joined the other national delegations in performing the shared contest song "We Can Be Heroes."[2]

Israel finished eighth out of 12 participating countries, receiving 68 points.[2] Ukraine's Anastasia Petryk won the contest with 138 points; Georgia placed second with 103 points, and Armenia third with 98.[2]

In the period immediately before the contest, songwriter Ohad Hitman wrote on Facebook that he felt the Israeli team had already won in terms of the experience and creative work they had achieved.[1] He also alleged that "deals and arrangements" among Eastern Bloc countries might distort the voting result.[1] This was Hitman's personal attribution and was not independently verified; no such arrangements were established as fact by reporting on the contest.