Israel's earliest selections were picked by the Israel Broadcasting Authority. The first singer to represent the country in 1973 was Ilanit, who finished 4th. In 1972, while Ilanit was in Germany recording as part of the duo "Ilat and Ilanit" with her partner Shlomo Tzach, the duo received an offer to represent Germany in that year's Eurovision Song Contest. 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 European Broadcasting Union, 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 Eurovision Song Contest winners of 1978 and 1979 were selected by this method. From 1981 the selection process was handled by the Kdam Eurovision with the exceptions of 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002–2004, 2006–2007 and 2010 where the selections were again picked by the IBA.