contest. Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta won in Paris in with "A-Ba-Ni-Bi". On home ground in Jerusalem , Israel won again, this time with "Hallelujah" performed by Milk and Honey. Unusually, Israel did not defend the title in (see below). The third victory came almost 20 years later in Birmingham in , when Dana International took top honours with the song "Diva", setting off widespread celebrations in Israel. It took another 20-year wait for Israel to record their fourth victory at the in Lisbon, with the song "Toy" by Netta, earning Israel their highest-ever score of 529 points. Other performances Israel's earliest selections were picked by the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The first singer to represent the country was Ilanit, who finished 4th in . In 1972, while Ilanit was in Germany recording as part of the duo Ilan and Ilanit with her partner Shlomo Tzach, the duo received an offer to represent in . While considering the proposal, the duo noticed that Israel was eligible to participate and approached the IBA with a proposal that Ilanit would represent Israel. However, by the time the IBA contacted the EBU, the registration period was over and instead Ilanit was promised to represent Israel in 1973. Criticism increased after she was sent again four years later, leading to a rule that the winner of the already established Hebrew Song and Chorus Festival would also represent Israel at the contest. The 1978 and 1979 Israeli Eurovision winners were selected by this method. From 1981, the selection process took place via the Kdam Eurovision with the exceptions of 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002–2004, 2006–2007 and 2010 where the IBA selected their representatives internally. After winning the contest in 1978 and 1979, the IBA was financially and logistically unable to organise the event for the second consecutive year, resulting in the Netherlands stepping up to host the 1980 contest in their place. The date chosen for that year's contest coincided with Yom HaZikaron, the Israeli Memorial Day, and the country was thus forced to withdraw. This made Israel the only country to date unable to defend its title. The 1980 Hebrew Song and Chorus Festival therefore did not double as a national final that year unlike the last two years, and the winning song "Pizmon Chozer" by the band The Brothers & the Sisters was never given the chance to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.