Israel's first appearance at the contest in 1973 was successful, with Ilanit finishing fourth. Israel then achieved victories in 1978 and 1979, with wins for Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi", and Milk and Honey, with "Hallelujah". In , the IBA declined to host the contest for the second successive year for financial reasons, and as the date for the contest in The Hague conflicted with Yom Hazikaron – Israeli Memorial Day – Israel did not participate. This is the only time that the winning country did not compete the following year. The country's best results in the 1980s were the second-place finishes for Avi Toledano in 1982 and Ofra Haza in 1983. Former winner Izhar Cohen returned to place fifth in 1985, before Duo Datz finished third in 1991. Israel achieved its third victory in 1998, with Dana International and "Diva". Eden then finished fifth in 1999. , Israel has the record for most participations and most wins in the contest without ever coming last, but it has placed second to last in the final three times, in , and , and got "nul points" from the juries in .