Zaharira Harifai ( he, זהרירה חריפאי; December 12, 1929 – January 2, 2013) was an Israeli film, stage, and television actress and recipient of the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

in Theater, which she was awarded in 2003. ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' called her "one of Israel's most celebrated actresses." She was born and raised in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Her father, Haim Leib Harifai, immigrated from Russia in 1922. He became a journalist, but died of pneumonia when Harifai was four years old. Harifai graduated from

Mikveh Yisrael Mikveh Israel ( he, מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל, 'Hope of Israel') is a youth village and boarding school in the Tel Aviv District of central Israel, established in 1870. It was the first Jewish agricultural school in what is now Israel ...

agricultural school in 1946 and then became a member of the first brigade of the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...

battalion. She studied acting and theater at the "Hadramati" school, the drama school of the

Cameri Theater The Cameri Theater ( he, התיאטרון הקאמרי, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theaters in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri theater was found ...

. She joined the ensemble of the Cameri Theater in 1968 and remained at the theater until her death in 2013. In 2003, Harifai was awarded the Israel Prize for Theater. She won the Best Actress in Theater award in 2011 for her role in the Anat Gov play, ''Happy End''.

Death

Zaharira Harifai died from cancer at the age of 83 in

. A memorial was held at the Cameri Theater. She was buried at the Kibbutz

Givat HaShlosha Givat HaShlosha ( he, גִּבְעַת הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה, ''lit.'' Hill of the three) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about 4 km east of Petah Tikva, near the Yarkon river, it falls under the jurisdiction of Drom Hasharon R ...

cemetery. Harifai was survived by her husband, writer Shlomo Shva, daughter Aya Shva, a director and actress, and two grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harifai, Zaharira 1929 births 2013 deaths Israel Prize in theatre recipients Israel Prize women recipients Israeli film actresses Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent Israeli stage actresses Israeli television actresses Palmach members People from Jaffa Actresses from Tel Aviv Women in war in the Middle East Women in warfare post-1945 Deaths from cancer in Israel Jewish Israeli actresses