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Haim Hefer
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Haim Hefer (born Haim Feiner on October 29, 1925) is an Israeli songwriter, poet and writer.
r was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1925 to Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife. He had a private Hebrew tutor. His family immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936 and settled in Raanana. He began writing at the age of thirteen, as part of a national contest.
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Encyclopedia
Haim Hefer (born Haim Feiner on October 29, 1925) is an Israeli songwriter, poet and writer.
Biography
Hefer was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1925 to Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife. He had a private Hebrew tutor. His family immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936 and settled in Raanana. He began writing at the age of thirteen, as part of a national contest. He never finished high school and joined the Palmach in 1943. He took part in smuggling illegal immigrants through Syria and Lebanon. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he was one of the founders of the Chizbatron, the Palmach army troupe, and was its chief songwriter.
In the 1950s, he and Dahn Ben-Amotz wrote A Bag of Fibs, a collection of tall stories made up in the Palmach, and founded the "Hamam" club in Jaffa. During that time, he founded "Revi'iat Moadon HaTeatron" (Theater Club Quartet). He wrote a weekly column for Yediot Aharonot, which included maqamas 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.
He wrote for dozens of composers, including Sasha Argov, Moshe Vilensky and Dubi Zeltzer. Artists which performed his songs include Arik Lavi, Yehoram Gaon, Shoshana Damari and Yafa Yarkoni, as well as The High Windows and most Israeli military bands. He wrote lyrics for musicals, including Kazablan and I Like Mike. Many of his songs, such as "Hafinjan" (The Billy Kettle), "Hayu Zmanim" (In Those Days) and "Hamilkhama Ha'achrona" (The Last War) are considered Israeli classics. He also published several collections of his verses. In 1983, he was awarded the Israel Prize for his contribution to the Music of Israel. 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 (IDF) launched an operation in the West Bank and named it Operation Defensive Shield.
In 2002, he told Yediot Aharonot that the Moroccan Jews' culture is inferior to that of the Polish Jews. He also called Aviv Geffen a phony and slammed Yafa Yarkoni's criticism of the IDF. His remarks were condemned as racist and were criticized by then President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, members of the Moroccan community, and representatives of the Shas Party, as well as Mizrahi musicians such as Margalit Tzan'ani. Hefer made a public apology and wrote a song for singer Zehava Ben.
Hefer owns a house in Ein Hod, but has been living in Tel Aviv for over thirty years. Since 1978, he has been divorced from Ruti, who gave him a daughter and two grandchildren.
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