Ofra Haza
Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza (1957-2000) was born in Tel-Aviv to Yemenite Jewish parents, the youngest of nine children. Her talent was first discovered in her youth when she performed with a small theatre troupe. After her military service was complete, Haza officially began her musical career. Her first album quickly went gold, as did her two follow-up albums. In 1983, she was runner-up at the Eurovision Contest, skyrocketing her fame, and giving her next two albums platinum status. She was voted Israel’s “Female Vocalist of the Year” four times in a row. By the late 80s, her fame had spread internationally, particularly for her ‘Yemenite Songs’ album, and its single “Im Nin’alu” (written by 17th-century Rabbi Shalom Shabazi). Her unique mix of Israeli, Arabic, and traditional Jewish music soon topped the Eurochart, and she was even nominated for a Grammy in 1992. Haza collaborated and performed alongside popular artists like Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson, Sarah Brightman, and Iggy Pop, and many others have done covers of her songs, including Madonna and Led Zeppelin. She also voiced Moses’ mother Yocheved in The Prince of Egypt, and sang the hit song from the movie, ‘Deliver Us’, in 17 languages. (It is said that the film artists were so struck by Haza’s beauty that they decided to sketch the character Yocheved to look like her.) Haza also sang on the soundtracks of at least seven other movies. All in all, she brought forth an incredible 24 solo albums. Sadly, Haza died fifteen years ago this week, at just 42 years of age, while in the midst of working on another album. It was later revealed that the likely cause was AIDS-related, which many believed she contracted from her husband. (Her husband said it was from a blood transfusion during a miscarriage, though he himself was found dead shortly after, possibly from a drug overdose). Beloved by Israelis and fans around the world, her music continues to inspire, and she is still often described as the “Madonna of the East”. Tel-Aviv’s Gan Ofra park is named in her honour.
Words of the Week
I don’t know what I would have done without believing in God. His support gives me power and energy to continue to be optimistic, to smile, not to be depressed. Sometimes, if things are not going so well, I don’t cry. I say maybe it’s meant to be…
– Ofra Haza
Martin John Gilbert (1936-2015) was born in London to parents of Russian-Jewish background. Soon after World War II broke out, the family was moved to Canada by the British government. Returning to England after the war, Gilbert finished his schooling and served for two years in the British Intelligence Corps. He then went to Oxford to study history. While a postgraduate in 1962, Gilbert was asked by Winston Churchill’s son Rudolph to assist as a researcher for Churchill’s biography. Randolph died a few years later, having brought forth just two volumes on Churchill. Gilbert took over and became the official biographer for Churchill, working on the project for over twenty five years, publishing many volumes along the way. (Currently, there are 31 books encompassing over 25,000 pages, and Gilbert had plans for more.) It was said that “Whoever made the decision to make Martin Gilbert Churchill’s biographer deserves a vote of thanks from the nation. Nothing less would suffice.” Aside from Churchill, Gilbert’s primary interests were studying the World Wars and the Holocaust, as well as producing historical atlases (his were among the very first produced). He also wrote a great deal of books and histories of Jewish communities, of Russia, Israel, and the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as to assist the plight of Soviet Jewry. All in all, Gilbert published an astounding ninety books, many of which were highly acclaimed. His abilities as a scholar and writer were praised. His first volume on Churchill had an original rough draft with two million words (which Gilbert narrowed down to 300,000 for publication), while the short “precis” version of the biography was a mere 981 pages! Gilbert also wrote for The Sunday Times, and for a number of films and TV programs, did research for the BBC, lectured at the White House, and stood before the UN Human Rights Commission. Since 2009, he served as the Privy Counsellor of the British commission inquiring into the Iraq War. Gilbert won numerous awards and honourary degrees, and was knighted in 1995. Sadly, he passed away last week after a lengthy illness.