יפה ירקוני

Yafa Yarkoni Born Yafa Abramov 24 December 1925 - 1 January 2012 Was An Israeli Singer Known As The "War Singer" Due To Her Frequent Appearances In Front Of Israel Defense Forces Soldiers Especially During Israel's Wars. Yarkoni Was Born In Giv'at Rambam Today A Neighbourhood Of Giv'atayim To A Jewish Family That Immigrated From The Caucasus. When She Was 10 Years Old She Learned Ballet Dancing Under Gertrude Kraus One Of Israel's Choreography Pioneers. During The 1940s Her Mother Ran A Café In Givat Rambam Where Yafa With Her Sister Tikva And Her Brother Binyamin Formed An Entertainment Group And Performed Songs With Piano Accompaniment. On September 21 1944 She Married Joseph Gustin A Volunteer In The Jewish Brigade And Was Widowed When Gustin Was Killed In A Battle For The Senio River In 1945. Yarkoni Joined An IDF Musical Group In The Givati Brigade Which Was Active During The 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Bab El-Wad A Song She Performed At The Time Which Is Still Sung Today On Yom HaZikaron Became A Major Symbol Of The War. After The War She Performed Songs For A Program On The Kol Yisrael Radio Station. Yarkoni Was The Main Or Only Performer Of Hundreds Of Songs Ever Since. Most Of Them Were Written By Tuli Reviv And Haim Hefer. Yarkoni Also Performed Some Of Naomi Shemer's Early Children's Songs. The Media Has Characterized Yarkoni As The War Singer Due To Her Performances During Wars And In Front Of Soldiers And Reported On An Alleged Feud Between Her And Shoshana Damari. In An Interview Yarkoni Strongly Rejected The Report And Said She Resents The Label Of "War Singer". In 2000 Yarkoni Was Diagnosed With Alzheimer's Disease. According To Her Daughter Orit Shochat Her Condition Became Serious In 2007. In That Year Yarkoni Made Her Last Performance During A Show In Her Honor Produced By Israel Broadcasting Authority. Sinai Told The Israeli Television Later On That Her Mother Made Special Effort To Make This Performance. She Said That During The Following Months Yarkoni Lost Most Of Her Memories And Became Disabled. In 1998 Yarkoni Was Awarded The Israel Prize. In 2005 She Was Voted The 153rd-Greatest Israeli Of All Time In A Poll By The Israeli News Website Ynet To Determine Whom The General Public Considered The 200 Greatest Israelis. On 1 January 2012 Yarkoni Died In Reut Medical Center In Tel Aviv. read less