Naomi Shemer

Known as the "First Lady of Israeli Song," Naomi Shemer was a prolific song writer and composer. She has written numerous songs, many of which have become popular hits, she composed many well-known children's songs, and also set poems to music, including works by Rahel and Natan Alterman.

In 1967, Shemer was asked to compose a song for the Israel Song Festival. Though not itself part of the competition, the three stanzas of "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold") became instantly popular. Particularly because the Festival occurred just before the Six Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem, the song acquired a national significance that spoke to the country's longing for Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. Broadcast frequently on the radio and sung by many, it functioned as a second national anthem. Following the war, Shemer composed a fourth stanza to the song, celebrating the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem and the road to Jericho. "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" was translated into many languages and became an international statement on the reunification of Jerusalem. Naomi Shemer died in June 2004, aged 74

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With thanks to The Jewish Agency for Israel, Department of Zionist Education