Hanna Dresner-Tzakh (; born 17 September 1947), known by her stage name Ilanit (, ), is an Israeli singer. She was one of Israel's most popular singers from the late 1960s to the 1980s, both as a soloist and in the duo Ilan & Ilanit. Ilanit also represented twice in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, in with "

Ey Sham "Ey Sham" (Hebrew: , lit. "Somewhere") is a song by Israeli singer Ilanit, with lyrics by Ehud Manor and music composed by Nurit Hirsh. The song was Israel's debut entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, competing in the 1973 edition, where it ...

" (Israel's debut entry in the competition) and in with "Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim". In a career spanning over four decades, Ilanit has recorded and produced over 600 songs and more than 30 albums.

Childhood

Hanna Dresner was born 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 ...

in 1947, after her parents had

fled ''Fled'' is a 1996 American Buddy film, buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad. Plot An interrogator prepa ...

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in 1939. In 1953, at the age of 5, the family moved to Brazil where they joined several South American acts, at which point Dresner adopted the stage name Ilanit. She moved back to Israel in 1960, at age 12. In 1962, Ilanit was discovered in a youth talent contest organized by

WIZO The Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO; ') is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora. Histor ...

and the magazine '' Ma'ariv Youth''.

Music career

Ilan and Ilanit

Shlomo Zach, an Israeli singer whom she later married, formed a trio that was later known as Gidi, Zach, and Hanna (). The trio became a duo, renamed Ilan & Ilanit, and released their self-titled debut album in 1967. Two of their songs, "" () and "" () became hits. Their 1971 song "" () was covered by Turkish singer Şenay as "".

Emerging as a soloist

In 1968, Ilanit released her first solo single, featuring the songs "" () and "" (). She sang "" () in the 1969 Israel Song Festival.

Peaking in the 1970s

Ilanit represented in its debut in the

, hosted in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. She finished in fourth place, performing the song "

" (), composed by

Ehud Manor Ehud Manor (; born Ehud Weiner; July 13, 1941 – April 12, 2005) was an Israeli lyricist, translator, poet and radio and TV personality. He is widely considered to have been Israel's most prolific lyricist of all time, having written or translat ...

and

Nurit Hirsh Nurit Hirsh (; born August 13, 1942) is an Israeli composer, arranger and conductor who has written over a thousand Hebrew songs. Three of her most famous and widely known songs are '' Ba-Shanah ha-Ba'ah'' (''Next Year'', lyrics by Ehud Manor), ...

, and conducted by the latter. In 1974, Ilanit represented Israel at the

World Popular Song Festival The , also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held from 1970 until 1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan. The first edition of the World P ...

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, performing the song "" (), and finished in ninth place. Ilanit represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest a second time in , performing the song "" () and finishing in 11th place.

1980s and 1990s

In , Ilanit was approached by producer Shlomo Zach and offered to represent Israel in the Eurovision for a third time. She declined, and instead released the song outside of the contest. Israel did not participate in the contest that year due to a conflict with its

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

. After the release of "Brazilian Dream" in 1996, Ilanit didn't record a new album for 12 years.

21st century

Together with other established Israeli artists, Ilanit took part in a tour through North America in 2005. In 2008, Ilanit released the album "Israelit". She performed at the Hadassah centennial in October 2012. Ilanit also appeared at the opening of the final of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

, where she performed the chorus of "Ey Sham". She also announced Israel's jury points at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

References

External links

Ilanit interview from Ynetnews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilanit 1947 births Living people 20th-century Israeli women singers Musicians from Tel Aviv Thelma Yellin High School of Arts alumni Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Jews from Mandatory Palestine Eurovision Song Contest entrants