Ofra Haza
- My Old New Land
- Feb 13, 2023
- 2 min read
Ofra Haza: Israel’s Iconic Voice and Global Music Star
Ofra Haza (1957–2000) was an Israeli singer and film and theater actress of Yemeni descent.
She remains one of Israel’s most celebrated musical figures and achieved remarkable international success.
Haza was named “Singer of the Year” in Israel four consecutive times (1980–1983), and twice in Germany (1988–1989), reflecting her broad appeal across audiences.
In 1983, she represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Hai” (“Living”), written by Ehud Manor. You can watch the performance below.
International Success, “Im Nin'alu” and Cultural Legacy
In 1993, Ofra Haza became the first Israeli artist nominated for a Grammy Award in the “World Music” category, thanks to her successful album Kirya (Spotify link), which topped Billboard’s World Music charts for several weeks.
Her 13th album, Shaday, sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. Building on this success, she released the global hit “Im Nin'alu,” which sold approximately 3 million copies (Spotify link).
“Im Nin'alu” is based on a Hebrew poem by Shalom Shabazi, a 17th-century Yemeni rabbi and poet. In Haza’s interpretation, the verses are performed in both English and Hebrew, while the chorus remains entirely in Hebrew.
You can also listen to another Shabazi composition she performed on television in this video.
Among her many hits are songs that have become classics of Israeli music, including “Yad Beyad,” “Hai,” and “Tefila,” among others (available in our Spotify playlist).
In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin invited her to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, as seen here.
She later participated in the musical project for the animated film The Prince of Egypt, recording songs in no fewer than 18 languages. Watch below.
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