Dudu Elharar (also spelled Elharrar; ; born in 1945) is an Israeli singer, music producer, actor and television and radio presenter.

Biography

Elharar was born in 1945 in a Jewish family in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. In 1950 the family made

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

to Israel. Elharar studied in a

Habad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

, but did not remain a

hasid Ḥasīd (, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Honorifics in Judaism, Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in hi ...

. After his service in the

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...

of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, Elharar worked as a

water ski Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...

instructor in touristic town of

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

in Southern Israel and in the evenings he would sing in clubs. There he met the singer

Dani Litani Dani Litani ( ; born 30 June 1943) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, composer, actor and voice actor. Biography Early life Born in Haifa, Litani learned to play the piano at age six and at age nine, he and his family moved to Jerusalem. He also s ...

and they started playing concerts together all around the country. In 1968, Elharar joined the

Cameri Theater The Cameri Theatre (, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theatres in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri Theatre was founded with the purpose of promoting ...

troupe and played in many of its musical and dramatic productions, among them an adaptation of

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

and a musical based on

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

protest songs. In 1970, Elharar recorded his first song as a singer, composed by Litani with lyrics by

Yehuda Amichai Yehuda Amichai (; born Ludwig Pfeuffer 3 May 1924 – 22 September 2000) was an Israelis, Israeli poet and author, one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew language, Hebrew in modern times. Yehuda Amichai, the poet of everyday life, love, ...

. Thus he became one of the pioneers of a movement that was popular in Israeli music in the 1970s – recording pop songs with lyrics by Hebrew poets. He recorded songs written by

Yaakov Shabtai Yaakov Shabtai (; March 8, 1934 – August 4, 1981) was an Israeli novelist, playwright, and translator. Biography Shabtai was born in 1934 in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine. In 1957, after completing military service, he joined Kibbutz Merhavia ...

Yehuda Halevi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of whic ...

Haim Hefer Haim Hefer (; 29 October 1925 – 18 September 2012) was a Polish-born Israeli songwriter, poet, columnist, translator and writer. He wrote for numerous composers and musical artists, as well as for military bands. Several of his songs are consi ...

Meir Ariel Meir Ariel (; 2 March 1942 – 18 July 1999) was an Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was known as a "man of words" for his poetic use of the Hebrew language in his lyrics. His influences included Hebrew poets such as ibn Gabirol, Na ...

and other famous poets and composed by

Shalom Hanoch Shalom Hanoch (; born September 1, 1946) is an Israeli rock singer, lyricist and composer. He is considered one of the founders of Israeli rock and modern Israeli music in more generally, both of which have been profoundly influenced by his w ...

, Yochanan Zarai,

Matti Caspi Matti Caspi () is an Israeli composer, musician, singer, arranger, and lyricist. Born in 1949, he is regarded as one of Israel's top popular musicians. His music's style is informed by classical music, Brazilian and Latin music, jazz, rock and ...

, Shosh Reisman and others. Later during the 1970s, Elharar along with guitarist

Yosi Piamenta Yosi Piamenta (; 29 November 1951 – 23 August 2015) was an Orthodox Jewish singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for introducing the electric guitar to Jewish music. Piamenta played rock and roll tunes, often infused with heavy rock licks an ...

also became one of the pioneers of the fusion of

Israeli rock Israeli rock (, ''Rok Yisra'eli'') is rock music created by Israeli bands and singers. History 1960s Israel's initial attitude towards rock music was mixed, with the genre gaining popularity amongst the youth but receiving condemnation from th ...

with ethnic

Middle Eastern music The various nations of the region include the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East, the Iranian traditions of Persia, the Jewish music of Israel and the diaspora, Kurdish music, Armenian music. Azeri Music, the varied traditions of Cyp ...

. From 1975 to 1978, Elharar was one of the presenters of the popular Israeli children TV show Telepele (טלפלא, ''Tele-wonder''). After releasing a string of singles, Elharar released his first full-length album in 1976. In 1978, Elharar produced an album for the first time –

Gidi Gov Gideon "Gidi" Gov (; 4 August 1950) is an Israeli singer, TV host, entertainer, and actor. He was married to Anat Gov before her death in 2012 and they had three children. Biography Early life Gov was born in Rehovot to Daniel and Tzipora ...

's debut. Later he produced several successful albums by

Yehudit Ravitz Yehudit Ravitz ( ; born December 29, 1956) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, and music producer. Active since the 1970s, she is considered one of the prominent figures in Israeli popular music. Music career Ravitz was born in ...

Yoni Rechter Yoni Rechter (; born 18 November 1951) is an Israeli musician, composer, pianist, arranger and singer. Biography Yonatan (Yoni) Rechter was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is the son of Israeli architect Ya'akov Rechter and stepson of Israeli actr ...

, Tuned Tone and the hugely popular children album Ha-Keves Ha-Shisha-asar (הכבש השישה עשר, ''The Sixteenth Sheep'') with lyrics by

Yehonatan Geffen Yehonatan Geffen (; 22 February 1947 – 19 April 2023), also known as Yonatan Gefen, was an Israeli author, poet, songwriter, journalist, satirist and playwright. Early life and education Geffen was born in moshav Nahalal. In 1965, he serv ...

. While continuing his musical work, mostly as a producers, since the early 1980s Elharar was active in many social endeavors – volunteering for organization that help mentally ill people, prisoners, drug addicts and families who lost their loved ones in the Israeli wars. Elharar also had a long and fruitful artistic relationship with the songwriter

Naomi Shemer Naomi Shemer (; July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry." Her song " Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"), written in 1967, became an unoffic ...

. He produced many songs written by her and in 2000 he produced her comeback tour. Since 1998, Elharar presented a weekly program on the

Israel Defense Forces Radio Israeli Army Radio ( lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz (), is a nationwide State media, state funded Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic repor ...

. In the program he played old Israeli songs and openly presented his right-wing worldview. In 2008 he was fired from the station.דודו אלהרר עוזב את גלי צה"ל, לי-אור אברבך, 12/10/2008
Elharar blamed the station for promoting left-wing politics, but the station commander Yitzhak Tunik refuted the claims.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elharar, Dudu 1945 births Living people Israeli Kahanists 20th-century Israeli male singers Israeli record producers Israeli male stage actors Israeli television presenters Israeli radio presenters Israeli soldiers Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews