Actress Hanna Rovina Dies
February 3, 1980 Acclaimed actress Hanna Rovina dies in Ra’anana at age 91. Her body lies in state the next day at the Habima Theatre, and she is eulogized by Shimon Finkel as “the high…
Opera Star Edis De Philippe Dies
July 5, 1979 Israel National Opera Company founder Edis De Philippe dies at age 67 after brain surgery. A New York native, De Philippe studied music, ballet and half a dozen languages before committing to…
Israel’s “Hallelujah” Wins Eurovision Song Contest
The 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, an annual competition between member countries of the European Broadcasting Union, is held in Jerusalem.
Singer Idan Raichel Is Born
September 12, 1977 Singer, composer and producer Idan Raichel is born in Kfar Saba, Israel. His music incorporates Israeli, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian and other international sounds. Lacking family musical roots, he takes up the accordion…
Music Star Udi Davidi Is Born
April 25, 1975 Singer-songwriter-musician Ehud “Udi” Davidi is born. He grows up in Kedumim, a settlement established in the northern West Bank by the Gush Emunim movement, and is active in the Bnei Akiva youth…
Conductor Otto Klemperer Dies
July 6, 1973 Otto Klemperer, a legendary German Jewish conductor and composer, dies at 88 at home in Zurich. Born in 1885 in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), Klemperer began playing music at age 4….
Singer Eyal Golan Is Born
April 12, 1971 Singer Eyal Golan is born Eyal Biton in Rehovot, Israel, to a family of Yemenite and Moroccan Jewish ancestry. He lives in Rehovot until 2010, when he moves to Tel Aviv. Known…
Writer-Musician Assaf Gavron Is Born
December 21, 1968 Assaf Gavron, a writer and musician, is born in Arad to English immigrants. Gavron spends his childhood in Motza Illit, near Jerusalem. He studies media and communication at Goldsmiths’ College in London…
Channel 1 Starts Broadcasting
May 2, 1968 Israel’s first general-interest television network begins broadcasting at 9:30 a.m. with an image of a menorah, followed by an aerial view of Jerusalem and, at 9:40, the national Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day)…
Mount Scopus Concert Takes Place
A packed audience fills the amphitheater on Mount Scopus to celebrate the end of the June 1967 War and to mark the cultural unification of Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem of Gold” Premieres at Israel Song Festival
The Voice of Israel Song Festival was created in 1960 as part of Israel’s Independence Day celebration and as an opportunity to showcase Israel’s emerging culture.
Israeli TV Goes on Air
March 24, 1966 An instructional program in math, geared toward seventh- and ninth-graders in 32 schools in the middle of the country, becomes Israel’s first television broadcast. The Israeli government has viewed television as a…
Israel Museum Opens in Jerusalem
The concept of a national museum originated in the early years of Zionist settlement in the Yishuv. Boris Schatz, the founder of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, opened the Bezalel Museum in 1912.
All-Time Miss Israel Illana Shoshan Is Born
April 14, 1961 Illana Shoshan, who wins the 1980 Miss Israel title after finishing second in the 1978 teen pageant, is born in Kfar Saba, Israel. In a public vote held in 2010 to celebrate…
Singer Ofra Haza Is Born
November 19, 1957 Singer Ofra Haza, the youngest of nine children, is born in Tel Aviv to a family who had emigrated from Yemen. Haza grows up in the impoverished Hatikvah Quarter, where she is…
Conductor Shlomo Mintz Is Born
Shlomo Mintz, violinist and conductor, is born in Moscow.
Rock Star Yoni Rechter Is Born
November 18, 1951 Yoni Rechter, considered one of Israel’s greatest musicians, is born in Tel Aviv. He is the son of architect Ya’akov Rechter and stepson of actress Hanna Meron. He pursues music as a…
Filmmaker Amos Gitai Born in Haifa
Filmmaker Amos Gitai, known for documentaries and features on the Middle East, the Israeli-Arab conflict and Holocaust memory in Europe, is born to architect Munio Weinraub and teacher Efratia Margalit in Haifa.
First Festival of Jewish Music Opens in Jerusalem
June 20, 1950 Israel’s first Festival of Jewish Music begins in Jerusalem and runs until July 1. It is arranged by the Music Department of the Israeli government’s Ministry of Education and Culture and the…
Shlomo Artzi Is Born
Israeli folk rock singer-songwriter and composer Shlomo Artzi is born on Moshav Alonei Abba, southeast of Haifa.
Israel Joins UNESCO
September 16, 1949 Israel becomes a member of UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Based in Paris, UNESCO has the purpose of creating peace and security by encouraging international collaboration in education, natural…
Cinema Director Alon Garbuz Is Born
September 9, 1948 Alon Garbuz, the director of the Tel Aviv Cinematheque for four decades, is born in Givatayim, the youngest of three brothers. The oldest, Aharon, becomes a leader in the Histadrut labor federation…
Violinist Pinchas Zukerman Is Born
July 16, 1948 Classical musician and conductor Pinchas Zukerman is born in Tel Aviv. At 4, he begins playing the recorder, then the clarinet, and by 8 he is playing the violin and studying at…
LGBTQ Leader Gila Goldstein Is Born
December 18, 1947 Actress, singer and transgender-rights activist Gila Goldstein is born as Abraham Goldstein in Turin, Italy. Goldstein immigrates to Haifa as a child and is active with the Maccabi Haifa soccer club. Goldstein…
