The Israeli entrant to the 48th Eurovision Song Contest will be chosen by the end of October, according to the Israeli paper Yediot Ahronot.
The Israeli artist or artists that will perform in Riga will be selected by a special jury of the Israeli broadcaster, the IBA. Once again, the pre-selection contest that was used to be held during the 80's and the 90's, Kdam-Eurovision, will not be the method of selection this year.
The IBA's general manager is expected in the coming days to approve the namelist of the jury's members, who are due to be convened by the end of this month, in order to select the performer. Later on, the artist will submit a number of optional songs to the IBA, from which the final entry for the Eurovision Song Contest will be chosen. Last year's entry, Light a Candle with Sarit Hadad, was selected by the same system. The group Eden (Israel 1999), Dana International (Eurovision 1998 winner) and the group Ping-Pong (Israel 2000) were also selected by a similar IBA jury.
Unlike last year, when Sarit Hadad's selection was obvious long before the official announcement (becasue of her popularity and her expressed desire to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest), this year the IBA's TV, Channel One, cannot point on one leading candidate.
