Yardena Shulamit Arazi (born Yardena Finebaum; he, ירדנה ארזי; September 25, 1951) is an Israeli singer and entertainer. In 2008 Arazi was named the most popular Israeli singer of all time at the 60th Independence Day celebration.

Early life

Yardena Finebaum was born on kibbutz Kabri,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. Her father was an immigrant from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

who was an

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

veteran and one of the founders of kibbutz

Beit HaArava Beit HaArava ( he, בֵּית הָעֲרָבָה, lit. ''House of the Arava'') is an Israeli settlement and kibbutz in the West Bank. Located near the Dead Sea and Jericho at the eponymous Beit HaArava Junction, the intersection of Highway 1 an ...

. Her mother was an immigrant from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with origins in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, and was a cousin of

Marcel Marceau Marcel Marceau (; born Marcel Mangel; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French actor and mime artist most famous for his stage persona, "Bip the Clown". He referred to mime as the "art of silence", and he performed professionally worldw ...

. At the age of two, her family moved to

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Israel, where she grew up. The family also lived briefly in France. She joined the Beit Rothschild group at age 16 and became its lead vocalist. She did her

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

in the

Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...

entertainment troupe.

Career

1970s

In the 1970s, Yardena Arazi was a member of the female vocal trio

Chocolate, Menta, Mastik Shokolad, Menta, Mastik ( he, שוקולד מנטה מסטיק, translate: Chocolate, Mentha, mint, Chewing gum, gum) was an Israeli female musical trio, active in the 1970s, composed of Yardena Arazi, and either (1972-1973) or . All the women ...

along with Leah Lupatin and Ruthie Holzman. The group represented Israel in the

1976 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In (band), Teach-In. Organised by t ...

with the song ''

Emor Shalom Emor ( he, אֱמֹר — Hebrew for "speak," the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 31st weekly Torah portion ( he, פָּרָשָׁה, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in ...

'' ("Say Hello"), placing sixth. After the Eurovision competition, they began an international tour that included

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

; releasing several singles in English, French and German and appeared in many TV shows all over Europe. Arazi left the band in 1978. In 1979, the

Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisrael'', which made its first broadcast as an independent st ...

(IBA) asked Arazi to co-host the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

with news anchor

Daniel Pe'er Daniel Pe'er (born Daniel Freudenreich, he, דניאל פאר; January 2, 1943 – September 28, 2017) was an Israeli television host and News presenter, newsreader. Early life Daniel Freudenreich was born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, Brit ...

. Arazi, who is fluent in Hebrew and French presented in those languages while Pe'er presented in Hebrew and English. Her hosting received positive reviews across Europe and she participated in TV shows in the Netherlands with Milk and Honey and in Belgium with

Mike Burstyn Michael Burstein ( he, מייק בורשטיין; born July 1, 1945) is an Israeli-American actor known onstage as Mike Burstyn. He was born in New York City to the late Yiddish-language actors, Pesach Burstein and Lillian Lux. His first cous ...

. Arazi was signed to a recording contract with record label

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

and released a mini-album with songs written by

Bernd Meinunger Bernd Meinunger (born 30 September 1944 in Meiningen) is a German lyricist and record producer (with Hanne Haller) who frequently works with Ralph Siegel and David Brandes. Several of his songs have represented Germany in the ''Eurovision Song ...

. During this period she met Natan Tomer and decided to return to Israel.

1980s

During the 1980s Arazi was one of the most successful singers in Israel, being named as the top female singer of the year five times and as the top female singer of the decade; releasing 10 gold and platinum albums. She kept performing internationally including in

with

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...

and

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Arazi took part at the domestic Israeli Eurovision competition (

Kdam KDAM (94.3 FM) is a hot adult contemporary radio station serving Yankton, South Dakota, Yankton and Vermillion, South Dakota area that is city of license, licensed to Hartington, Nebraska. KDAM is owned and operated by Riverfront Broadcasting LL ...

) as a singer in 1982, 1983, and 1985 and as a co-host in 1987. In 1988, she was selected internally by IBA to sing the Israeli entry for Eurovision and during a special TV show, in which she presented four new songs, the entry was chosen. Eventually, she went to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

with the song ''

Ben Adam ''Ben adam'' (Hebrew: בן־אדם son of a man) in biblical Hebrew it simply means human being. Geoffrey W. Bromiley The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia -0802837840 Volume 4 - 1995- Page 574 "In each instance ben 'adam is literally ...

'' ("Human Being"), which came in seventh. Arazi has always been highly superstitious and consults an astrologer on all matters in her life. The astrologer told her the song performed 9th would win the competition in Dublin, Ireland. Israel had drawn 9th in the running order, so Arazi agreed to represent Israel. However, when Cyprus withdrew from the contest, Israel's position shifted to 8th. The 9th song did win the competition; with the Swiss, represented by

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, triumphing from that position. In 1989 Arazi recorded the album ''Desert Fantasy'' than included 10 Hebrew versions of Arabic songs originally written and sung by

Farid al-Atrash Farid al-Atrash ( ar, فريد الأطرش; October 19, 1916 – December 26, 1974), also written Farid El-Atrache, was a Syrian-Egyptian composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor. Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of only nine ...

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie' Haddad ( ar, نهاد وديع حداد, ; born November 21, 1934), known as Fairuz ( ar, فيروز, ; also spelled Fairouz, Feyrouz or Fayrouz), is a Lebanese singer. She is considered by many as one of the leading vocalists a ...

Abdul Halim ʻAbd al-Ḥalīm (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحليم) is a male Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥalīm'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which gives rise ...

Samira Said Samira Abdelrazak Bensaïd ( ar, سميرة عبد الرزاق بنسعيد, Samīra ʿAbd ar-Razzāq ibn Saʿīd; born 10 January 1958), professionally known as Samira Said ( ar, سميرة سعيد, Samīra Saʿīd), is a Moroccan singer, who ...

and others. The album was also released in the US and Japan and was hugely successful around the Middle East.

21st century

Since 1997, Arazi has focused on her career as a TV host. For 9 years she co-hosted the channel 2 morning magazine ''Cafe Telad''. Later on, she hosted on Channel 1 (Shir Hashishim), Channel 2 (Malkot Hashabat), and GLZ radio station.

Personal

Arazi is married to engineer Nathan Tomer, with whom she has a daughter, Alona.Yardena Arazi makes a comeback
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arazi, Yardena 1951 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1976 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1988 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Israel 20th-century Israeli women singers Israeli people of German-Jewish descent Israeli people of French-Jewish descent Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli women television presenters