Haim Hefer (; 29 October 1925 – 18 September 2012) was a Polish-born

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i songwriter, poet, columnist, translator and writer. He wrote for numerous composers and musical artists, as well as for

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

s. Several of his songs are considered Israeli classics. He was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

in 1983 as recognition for his contributions to Israeli music.

Biography

Haim Feiner (later Hefer) was born in Sosnowiec,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1925 to Jewish parents Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife. He had a private Hebrew tutor. His family immigrated to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

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 The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...

in 1943. He took part in smuggling

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

through

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. During the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, he was one of the founders of the Chizbatron, the

army troupe, and was its chief songwriter. He had a nickname, "Kilometer", because he "weighed a kilo and was only a meter in height." Hefer owned a house in

Ein Hod Ein Hod () is a village in Haifa District in northern Israel. Located at the foot of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council and has the status of community settlement (Israel), comm ...

, but resided in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. He was married to Ruti Haramati, with whom he had a daughter, Mimi. In 1975–1978 Hefer was a

cultural attaché Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

at the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles. On 18 September 2012 (the second day of

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

, 5773), Hefer died at Sourasky Medical Center in

, after a long illness.

Music career

In the 1950s, Hefer and Dahn Ben-Amotz wrote ', a collection of

tall tale A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories ("the fish that got away") such as, "That fish was so big, why I tell ya', it ...

s made up in the Palmach, and founded the "Hamam" club in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

. During that time, he founded "Revi'iat Moadon HaTeatron" (Theater Club Quartet). He wrote a weekly column for '' Yediot Aharonot'', which included

maqama The ''maqāma'' (Arabic: مقامة aˈqaːma literally "assembly"; plural ''maqāmāt'', مقامات aqaːˈmaːt is an (originally) Arabic prosimetric literary genre of picaresque short stories originating in the tenth century C.E.Qian, ...

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 Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He wrote for dozens of composers, including Sasha Argov, Moshe Wilensky and Dubi Seltzer. Artists who performed his songs include Arik Lavie,

Yehoram Gaon Yehoram Gaon (; born December 28, 1939) is an Israeli singer, actor, director, comedian, producer, TV and radio host, and public figure. He has also written and edited books on Israeli culture. The son of Sephardic Jewish parents—a Bosnian f ...

, Shoshana Damari and Yafa Yarkoni, as well as The High Windows and most Israeli military bands. He wrote lyrics for musicals, including ''

Kazablan ''Kazablan'' (''Casablan'' or ''Kasablan'' in its first production; Hebrew: קזבלן) 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 pr ...

'' and ' (made into the film with the same name). Many of his songs, such as " Yatzanu at", "HaFinjan" (The Finjan), " Hayu Zmanim" (In Those Days), "The Red Rock" (

HaSela haAdom "HaSela haAdom" () is an Israeli song written by Haim Hefer, with music by Yochanan Zarai, recorded by Arik Lavie in 1958. The song tells the story of a young Israeli soldier who illegally crossed the Israeli-Jordanian border to visit Petra, and e ...

) 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 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 ...

(IDF) launched an operation in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and named it Operation Defensive Shield.

Controversy

In 2002, Hefer described Moroccan Jewish culture as inferior to that of the

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

. He called Aviv Geffen a phony and criticized Yaffa Yarkoni for badmouthing the IDF. His remarks were condemned as racist and criticized by then

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...

Moshe Katsav Moshe Katsav (; born Musa Qassab; 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician and was the president of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its Cabinet of Israel, cabinet. He ...

, members of the Moroccan community, and representatives of the

Shas Shas () is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi religious List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardic Jews, Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until ...

Party, as well as Mizrahi musicians such as Margalit Tzan'ani. Hefer made a public apology and wrote a song for singer Zehava Ben.

Awards and recognition

*1969: Sokolov Award for journalism *1981: ACUM Prize for lifetime achievement *1983:

, for Hebrew song (words), for his contribution to the

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 almost 150 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements ...

. *2011: Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

חיים חפר (1925–2012)
/ref> In 2008 in Poland was published a book, "Chaim Chefer—Memorable Days"("Chaim Chefer – Pamiętne Dni"), the development of the graphic made by Pawel Slota under the artistic supervision of Agnieszka Tyrman. The book was out of admiration and respect for the work of Chaim Chefer in the jubilee year the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel.

Gallery

File:Haim Hefer and Rachel Haramati.JPG, Haim Hefer and Rachel Haramati File:Chizbatron 1949.jpg, Hefer with the Chizbatron, September 1949

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hefer, Haim 1925 births 2012 deaths People from Sosnowiec Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Polish Jews in Israel Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli male songwriters Israeli male poets Israeli male journalists Israeli columnists Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Jewish Israeli poets Jewish Israeli songwriters Jewish Israeli journalists Yedioth Ahronoth people Palmach members Chizbatron members Sokolov Award recipients Israel Prize in Hebrew song recipients 20th-century Israeli male writers 21st-century Israeli male writers 20th-century Israeli songwriters 21st-century Israeli songwriters 20th-century Israeli poets 21st-century Israeli poets 20th-century Israeli journalists 21st-century Israeli journalists 20th-century Israeli translators 21st-century Israeli translators 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews 20th-century Polish Jews 21st-century Polish Jews