The Israeli entry for the 2018 Contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected through the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), which was organised by Keshet and Tedy Productions.

This was the fourth time that the Israeli entry was selected through a collaboration with Keshet and Tedy Productions.

The singer who performed the Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was selected through the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion ("The Next Star for Eurovision"), the original version of the international format Rising Star, produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Media Group.

The shows was hosted by Assi Azar and Rotem Sela and featured a judging panel composed of Asaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Harel Skaat (2010 Israeli Eurovision entrant) and Static & Ben-El Tavori.

In the shortlisting round the remaining seventy contestants were required to perform in front of the jury.

Among the contestants was Chen Aharoni, who previously participated in the 2011 national final where he placed fourth with the song "Or".

Among the contestants was Rinat Bar who previously participated in the 2005 national final where she placed seventh with the song "Kmo chalom".

Among the contestants was Almog Kapach who previously took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and 2017 as a backing vocalist behind Hovi Star and IMRI and also participated in the previous edition of the competition as a member of the band Beatbox Element, finishing fourth.

Zohar Raziel would have originally got eliminated, however the judges exceptionally gave her a second chance to perform another song where she eventually advanced to the next stage of the competition.

Among the contestants was Mishéll who previously participated as Irina Rosenfeld in the 2006 Ukrainian national final where she placed second with the song "You Give Me Your Love".

From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next round while one contestant was saved by the jury at the end of the second part of the second heat.

For the first time in the history of the competition, a guest judge also voted for the performances: Ninet Tayeb, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model and actress.

From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next round while one contestant was saved by the jury at the end of the second part of the second heat.

To complement the jury panel, the winner of the second season and representative of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, Nadav Guedj was invited to vote.

In the first part on 8 February the two contestants who were selected by the judges in the quarter-final – Netta Barzilai and Riki Ben Ari – were paired in a duel that determined the first finalist.

During each performance the votes were cast only by the viewers through the official mobile application, without the scores appearing on screen.

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final.

On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.

At the end of the night, Israel was one of the ten countries announced as qualifying for the grand final, their fourth qualification in a row since 2015.

Following the semi-final, Netta joined the other new finalists in a press conference and a draw to see which half of the final she would perform in.

Among these points were five top marks from the jury vote (awarded by Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, and San Marino) and eight top marks from the televote (awarded by Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Spain, Ukraine, and once again France and San Marino).

Under the hybrid jury-televote system, Israel would have received twelve points from Australia, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Iceland, Moldova, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting.

Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency.

This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.

In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.