"Amen" was the Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995

Eurovision Song Contest 1995

The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 13 May 1995 in the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. The presenter was Mary Kennedy. This contest broke the chain of victories that Ireland enjoyed in 1992, 1993, and 1994...

, performed in Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 by Liora.

The song is a prayer to God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 for protection, with the title being derived from the word Amen

Amen

The word amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Its use in Judaism dates back to its earliest texts. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it is the standard ending to Dua and the...

, which is repeated frequently in the prayer.

The song was performed twenty-first on the night (following Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

's Darja Švajger

Darja Švajger

Darja Švajger was born in Maribor, SR Slovenia in 1965. Darja is one of the country's most popular singers but perhaps most known internationally for representing Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice.-Early life:...

 with "Prisluhni mi

Prisluhni mi

"Prisluhni mi" was the Slovene entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, sung by Darja Švajger in Slovenian.The song was performed twentieth on the night, following Denmark's Aud Wilken with "Fra Mols til Skagen" and preceding Israel's Liora with "Amen"...

" and preceding Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

's Mike Spiteri with "Keep Me In Mind

Keep Me In Mind (song)

"Keep Me In Mind" was the Maltese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, performed in English by Mike Spiteri.The song is a ballad, inspired somewhat by the soul music tradition, in which Spiteri addresses himself to a former lover...

"). At the close of voting, it had received 81 points, placing 8th in a field of 23. In the pre-selection show in Israel Liora performed the song with candles on the stage. The Irish production, however, declined the Israeli candles staging due to "safety problems".

Due to the rapidly-expanding size of the Contest, entry to the 1996 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1996

The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 18 May 1996 in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. The presenters were Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket. Harket, lead singer of a-ha, opened the show with a performance of his single "Heaven's Not For Saints". Eimear...

 was determined through an internal preselection in which judges listened to recordings of the proposed entries. Israel did not progress through this stage. Entry to the 1997 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1997

The Eurovision Song Contest 1997, was the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest and it was held at the Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997. Boyzone member Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley were the presenters of the show....

 was restricted to those countries with the best average scores over the previous five years, a group which did not include Israel. The country did, however, participate as a "passive participant", by screening the Contest live. This earned Israel the right to re-enter the Contest in 1998. Hence, the song was succeeded as Israeli representative

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest

Although geographically not in Europe, Israel is within the European Broadcasting Area and can thus participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. Israel is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, and made its first appearance in 1973. Israel has participated in the contest 34 times, and has won...

 at the 1998 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1998

The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...

 by Dana International

Dana International

Sharon Cohen , professionally known as Dana International is an Israeli pop singer of Yemenite Jewish ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever...

 with "Diva

Diva (song)

"Diva" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 performed in Hebrew by Dana International representing Israel. The music was composed by Tzvika Pick, and the lyrics by Yoav Ginai. It totalled 172 points in the polling.The song became the last entry entirely in a language other than...

".