Shemer, Naomi

(1930-2004)

   Considered the "First Lady of Israeli Song." Shemer was born in Kvutsat Kinneret, a kibbutz on the shore of Sea of Galilee, of which her parents were founders. In the 1950s, she served in the Israel Defense Force's Nahal entertainment troupe, studied music at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, and returned to the Sea of Galilee to teach and write songs for preschool children before ultimately settling in Tel Aviv. Shemer wrote both words and lyrics to her own songs, composed music to words by others (such as the poet Rachel), and set Hebrew words to internationally known tunes (such as "Hey Jude" by the Beatles). Several of her songs have the quality of anthems, striking deep national and emotional chords in the hearts of Israelis. Her most famous song of this vein is "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"). She wrote this song in 1967, at the time of the Six-Day War. Another of her classic works was "Ho Rav Chovel" ("O Captain My Captain"), which she translated from the Walt Whitman poem and set to song as a tribute to the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In 1983, Shemer received the Israel Prize for her contribution to Israeli culture. She died on 26 June 2004 of cancer at the age of 73.