Ran Eliran ( he, רן אלירן; born December 16, 1934), known as "Israel's Ambassador of Song," is an Israeli singer.

Biography

Ran Eliran (Menachem Leizerovich) was born in Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine. He was the middle child among three siblings. His Polish-Jewish parents ran a bakery. In the late 1950s, he formed one of the first Israeli folk-style duos, Ran and Nama with

Nechama Hendel Nechama 'Nama' Hendel ( he, נחמה הנדל; 22 August 1936 – 30 September 1998) was an Israeli singer. She began in the IDF Nahal music troupe, and came out of the Tsahal music scene in the 1950s, first in the duet "Ran veNama" – with ...

. In 1958, Ed Sullivan visited Israel looking for young performers to appear on a special show celebrating Israel's tenth anniversary. Eliran and Hendel were the finalists. While the name Ran was not a problem for English speakers, they could not pronounce Nechama, so the duo became known as "Ran and Nama." After their television appearance, the duo toured the United States for a year and a half. Eliran was the first Israeli singer to perform in Las Vegas. In 1962, Eliran became an entertainer for the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. One of his greatest hits was the Sharm el-Sheikh song, composed after the Six-Day War. In the mid-1970s he appeared in a Broadway musical, "Don't Step on My Olive Branch" with Israeli performers Rivka Raz, Ruti Navon,

Riki Gal Riki Gal ( he, ריקי גל, born July 7, 1950, in Jerusalem) is an Israeli singer. Gal, who reached the height of her career in the 1980s, sings a mix of blues, folk and pop. Biography Rivka Menashe (later Riki Gal) was born in 1950 to an Ortho ...

and

Hanan Goldblatt Hanan Goldblatt ( he, חנן גולדבלט; born 10 October 1941) is an Israeli actor, comedian and singer who appeared in plays, films, television programs, and who was most widely known for his part in the educational TV show " Bli Sodot". In 2 ...

. With Nama and solo, Eliran has an extensive discography behind him, as well as a distinguished history of performances, playing with Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Elvis Presley. He was recently given the Israeli Lifetime Achievement Award. Eliran studied film and photography at NYU and continues to live in New York.The freak accident that served a death sentence to a writer
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eliran, Ron 1937 births Living people Musicians from Haifa Jewish Israeli musicians Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli male songwriters Israeli songwriters 20th-century Israeli male singers Israeli guitarists Israeli accordionists Israeli expatriates in the United States