Israel Prize laureate songwriter Haim Hefer died Tuesday at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. He was 86.
Hefer wrote hundreds of Israeli classics during a prolific career that spanned seven decades, including classic songs like “Hafinjan,” and the lyrics for the musical “Kazablan” and the 1964 film classic “Salah Shabati.”
Hefer immigrated to Israel with his family from Poland in 1936. He fought in the Palmach from 1943, helping smuggle immigrants via Syria and Lebanon to pre-state Palestine. In 1948, he founded the Palmach’s musical troupe Chizbatron.
He worked with many of Israel’s foremost songwriters and artists, especially in the early decades of the state.
Hefer, who is survived by his wife Ruti Haramati and their daughter, won the Israel Prize in 1983 for his contribution to Israeli culture. His funeral was to be held at the Ein Hod cemetery on Wednesday.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the 2026 Israeli election? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:
Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock to report political developments as they unfold;
Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and podcasts; and
Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including our DocuNationstreaming film series and weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
