Haim Hefer
Encyclopedia
Haim Hefer is an Israel
i songwriter, poet and writer.
, Poland
in 1925 to Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife. He had a private Hebrew tutor.
His family immigrated
to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936 and settled in Raanana. He began writing at the age of 13, as part of a national contest. He never finished high school and joined the Palmach
in 1943. He took part in smuggling illegal immigrants through Syria
and Lebanon
. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, he was one of the founders of the Chizbatron, the Palmach army troupe, and was its chief songwriter.
In the 1950s, he and Dahn Ben-Amotz wrote A Bag of Fibs, a collection of tall stories made up in the Palmach, and founded the "Hamam" club in Jaffa
. During that time, he founded "Revi'iat Moadon HaTeatron" (Theater Club Quartet). He wrote a weekly column for Yediot Aharonot, which included maqama
s on current affairs. A Bag of Fibs achieved cult status in Israel. He was later made a cultural attache to the Israeli consul in Los Angeles
.
He wrote for dozens of composers, including Sasha Argov
, Moshe Wilensky and Dubi Zeltzer. Artists which performed his songs include Arik Lavi, Yehoram Gaon
, Shoshana Damari and Yafa Yarkoni
, as well as The High Windows
and most Israeli military bands. He wrote lyrics for musicals, including Kazablan
and I Like Mike. Many of his songs, such as "Hafinjan" (The Billy Kettle), "Hayu Zmanim" (In Those Days) and "Hamilkhama Ha'achrona" (The Last War) are considered Israeli classics. He also published several collections of his verses.Shortly before the 1948 war, he wrote a song titled "Between the Borders", about immigration. It included the words "We are here, a defensive shield". In 2002, the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) launched an operation in the West Bank
and named it Operation Defensive Shield
.
In 2002, he told Yediot Aharonot that the Moroccan Jews' culture is inferior to that of the Polish Jews. He also called Aviv Geffen
a phony and slammed Yafa Yarkoni's criticism of the IDF. His remarks were condemned as racist and were criticized by then President of Israel
, Moshe Katsav
, members of the Moroccan community, and representatives of the Shas
Party, as well as Mizrahi music
ians such as Margalit Tzan'ani
. Hefer made a public apology and wrote a song for singer Zehava Ben
.
Hefer owns a house in Ein Hod
, but has been living in Tel Aviv
for over 30 years. Since 1978, he has been divorced from Ruti, who gave him a daughter and two grandchildren.
, for Hebrew song (words), for his contribution to the Music of Israel
.
In 2005, he was voted the 116th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i songwriter, poet and writer.
Biography
Hefer was born in SosnowiecSosnowiec
Sosnowiec is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a combined population of over two million people located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river .It is situated in...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1925 to Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife. He had a private Hebrew tutor.
His family immigrated
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936 and settled in Raanana. He began writing at the age of 13, as part of a national contest. He never finished high school and joined the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
in 1943. He took part in smuggling illegal immigrants through Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, he was one of the founders of the Chizbatron, the Palmach army troupe, and was its chief songwriter.
In the 1950s, he and Dahn Ben-Amotz wrote A Bag of Fibs, a collection of tall stories made up in the Palmach, and founded the "Hamam" club in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. During that time, he founded "Revi'iat Moadon HaTeatron" (Theater Club Quartet). He wrote a weekly column for Yediot Aharonot, which included maqama
Maqama
Maqāma are an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century...
s on current affairs. A Bag of Fibs achieved cult status in Israel. He was later made a cultural attache to the Israeli consul in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
He wrote for dozens of composers, including Sasha Argov
Sasha Argov
-Early life:Argov was born in Moscow. He immigrated to Palestine from Russia in 1934 with his parents.-Music career:He started composing at the age of five, began his formal music training one year later, and composed hundreds of popular songs. Among them were songs for the Israel Defense Forces,...
, Moshe Wilensky and Dubi Zeltzer. Artists which performed his songs include Arik Lavi, Yehoram Gaon
Yehoram Gaon
Yehoram Gaon is a Jewish Israeli singer, actor, director, producer, TV and radio host, and public figure...
, Shoshana Damari and Yafa Yarkoni
Yafa Yarkoni
-External links:*Nathan Shahar, , Jewish Women Encyclopedia-See also:*List of Israel Prize recipients...
, as well as The High Windows
The High Windows
The High Windows was a 1960s Israeli pop group founded by Arik Einstein, Shmulik Kraus and Josie Katz.-History:Hahalonot HaGvohim trio was formed at the end of 1966. As composer and vocal arranger, Kraus was the group's moving spirit...
and most Israeli military bands. He wrote lyrics for musicals, including Kazablan
Kazablan
Kazablan is an early Israeli Hebrew language play, staged first as a 1954 drama followed by a 1964 screen adaptation, later as a 1966 musical comedy, and still later produced as a 1974 musical comedy film...
and I Like Mike. Many of his songs, such as "Hafinjan" (The Billy Kettle), "Hayu Zmanim" (In Those Days) and "Hamilkhama Ha'achrona" (The Last War) are considered Israeli classics. He also published several collections of his verses.Shortly before the 1948 war, he wrote a song titled "Between the Borders", about immigration. It included the words "We are here, a defensive shield". In 2002, the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
(IDF) launched an operation in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and named it Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
.
In 2002, he told Yediot Aharonot that the Moroccan Jews' culture is inferior to that of the Polish Jews. He also called Aviv Geffen
Aviv Geffen
Aviv Geffen is an Israeli rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, keyboardist and guitarist. He is the son of writer and poet Yehonatan Geffen and Nurit Makover, brother of actress Shira Geffen, and an alumnus of Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.Geffen was and is extremely popular...
a phony and slammed Yafa Yarkoni's criticism of the IDF. His remarks were condemned as racist and were criticized by then President of Israel
President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
, Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav is an Israeli politician. He served as the eighth President of Israel, a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset, and a Cabinet Minister in its government....
, members of the Moroccan community, and representatives of the Shas
Shas
Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...
Party, as well as Mizrahi music
Mizrahi music
Mizrahi music refers to the music integration that combines elements from Europe, the West, and Middle Eastern/North African countries transported to Israel by migrating Jews. It is usually sung in Hebrew, literary Hebrew and Arabic slang...
ians such as Margalit Tzan'ani
Margalit Tzan'ani
Margalit Tzan'ani , also known as Margol, is an Israeli singer and television personality. Tzan'ani is famous for her repertoire of Israeli oriental music style with soul influences, as well as jazz, blues, rock, pop and Arab music.-Biography :...
. Hefer made a public apology and wrote a song for singer Zehava Ben
Zehava Ben
Zehava Ben is one of the most popular Israeli female vocalists in the Mizrahi music genre; the Middle Eastern-style of singing rising from Israel's Mizrahi Jewish population, dominating Israeli music in the 1990s and popular ever since.-Early life:...
.
Hefer owns a house in Ein Hod
Ein Hod
Ein Hod is a communal settlement in northern Israel. Located south of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa in northern Israel, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In 2008 it had a population of 559....
, but has been living in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
for over 30 years. Since 1978, he has been divorced from Ruti, who gave him a daughter and two grandchildren.
Awards
In 1983, Hefer was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
, for Hebrew song (words), for his contribution to the Music of Israel
Music of Israel
The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For more than 100 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements that would define the emerging national spirit...
.
In 2005, he was voted the 116th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.