And it turns out that the Shalva Band will perform at Eurovision after all! Just not as part of the competition. The Shalva Band has dropped out of the competition to compete in Eurovision because of the requirement to participate in the full dress rehearsal recording on Shabbos, but the solution reached is that on Saturday night during the actual competition, during the semi-finals, the Shalva Band will put on a performance.

This decision was worked out between the Israeli and European relevant authorities and has been approved by all. They will be invited to perform, not compete, even though they will not participate in the dress rehearsal. That makes me wonder about Omer Adam who decided to not accept the invitation to perform because of the dress rehearsal requirement..

As the Kan Broadcasting Authority said, the Eurovision slogan is "Dare to Dream", and Shalva Band did just that.

I don't care for Eurovision at all, though I am always happy to see my brothers and sisters do well in this, and any other, competition, and I am happy the Shalva Band will have an opportunity to show the world what they are capable of. And I wish the best of luck to whichever other finalist will end up being the Israeli representative.