Yehuda Leon Poliker ( he, יהודה ליאון פוליקר; born December 25, 1950) is an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

singer, songwriter,

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Poliker first became known in the 1980s as the lead vocalist for the band Benzene. In 1985, after Benzene broke up, he began a varied solo career that included motifs from rock, pop, and traditional Greek music.

Biography

Yehuda Poliker (birth name: Leonidas Polikaris) was born in

Kiryat Haim Kiryat Haim ( he, קריית חיים , ar, كريات حاييم) is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. It is considered part of the Krayot cluster in the northern part of metropolitan Haifa. In 2008, Kiryat Haim had a population of just un ...

, a suburb of

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 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 ...

. His parents were

Greek Jews The history of the Jews in Greece can be traced back to at least the fourth century BCE. The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, also known as "Greek Jews." The term "Greek Jew" is pred ...

and

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

who were deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

from

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Music career

1980s

In 1981, Poliker began his career-long collaboration with writer and producer . Poliker's band, Benzene, released two albums: ''24 Sha'ot'' (''24 Hours'') and ''Mishmeret Layla'' (''Night Watch''), which included hit singles such as "Hofshi Ze Legamrei Levad" ("Free Is Totally Alone"), "Geshem" ("Rain") and "Yom Shishi" (Friday). After Benzene broke up, Poliker began a solo career. In 1985, he released his first solo album, ''Einaim Shely'' (''These Eyes of Mine''). All of the tracks on the album were well-known Greek songs literally translated into

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. In 1986, Poliker released his second solo album, ''Kholem Behakitz'' (''Daydreamer'')''.'' His third album, ''Efer VeAvak'' (''Dust and Ashes''), released in 1988, dealt mostly with the children of Holocaust survivors. It sold more than 70,000 copies, and in 2005, was rated by ''

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

'' as number one of the top 100 best albums ever recorded in Israel.

1990s

In 1990, Poliker released his fourth solo album, ''Pakhot Aval Ko'ev'' (''Hurts But Less''). It sold over 140,000 copies, becoming Poliker's most successful album. Following the success of ''Pakhot Aval Ko'ev'', Poliker started to work on an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

record, released in 1992 as ''Le'enekha Hakekhulot'' (''For Your Blue Eyes''). In 1995, Poliker released a double album, ''Hayeled Sh'Beha'' (''The Child Within You''), featuring the songs "Ani Rotze Gam" ("I Want Too"), "Ma Yihye Yihye" ("What Will Be, Will Be") and "Namess Bageshem" ("Dissolved in the Rain"). The ensuing concert tour was documented on the double live album ''Hofa'a Khaya Bekaysaria'' (''Live in Caesarea'').

2000–present

In 2001, Poliker released the album ''Eih Korim Laahava Sheli?'' (''What Is My Love Called?''). The title song, written by Poliker with Yaakov Gilad, won Song of the Year at the 2002 Golden Feather Awards, administered by ACUM, an Israeli society of composers, authors, and publishers. In 2003, he released his first compilation album, ''Hameitav'' (''The Best''), including songs from both Benzene and his solo career, as well as new tracks. In 2007, he released ''Hummus Sapiens'' in collaboration with Greek poet

Manolis Rasoulis Emmanouil (Manolis) Rasoulis ( el, Μανώλης Ρασούλης, 28 September 19455 March 2011), best known as the lyricist of famous songs, was a Greek music composer, singer, writer, and journalist. Rasoulis was born in 1945 in Heraklion, ...

. In 2010, Poliker began his Shirim Shehilkhanti Le'aherim (''Songs I Wrote for Others'') tour. The tour, which began as a one-time event, featured his first songs for other singers, such as

Yossi Banai Yosef "Yossi" Banai ( he, יֹוסֶף "יֹוסִי" בַנָאי; April 13, 1932 – May 11, 2006) was an Israeli performer, singer, actor, and dramatist. Biography Banai was born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, and grew up in the neighb ...

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

Arik Einstein Arieh Lieb "Arik" Einstein ( he, אָרִיק אַייְנְשְׁטֵייְן, ; 3 January 1939 – 26 November 2013) was an Israeli singer, actor, comedian and screenwriter. He was a pioneer of Israeli rock music and was named "the voice of Is ...

. Also in 2010, he released ''Ahava Al Tnai'' (''Conditional Love''). The first single from it, "Shlosha Yamim" ("Three Days"), written by Poliker and Gilad, reached the top of the Israeli charts. In 2011, he released ''Kol Davar Mazkir Li'' (''Everything Reminds Me''), which, like ''Einaim Sheli'', consisted of well-known Greek songs translated into Hebrew. He sang the title track in Greek with

Haris Alexiou Haris Alexiou ( el, Χάρις Αλεξίου, ; born 27 December 1950 in Thebes, Greece as Hariklia Roupaka, el, Χαρίκλεια Ρουπάκα, ) is a Greek singer. She is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and has been co ...

, and also recorded a Hebrew version. Two weeks after its release, the album was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. In summer 2012, Poliker released ''Jacko and Yehuda Poliker'', which contained rare recordings of his parents singing Thessaloniki Jewish songs in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...

before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In spring 2014, he released ''Muzeon Ha Halomot'' (''The Museum of Dreams''), which featured the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

. The album was certified gold and was soon followed by a live tour.

Film

Poliker's father, Jacko, told the story of his escape from Auschwitz in the 1988 film ''

Because of That War ''Because of That War'' ( he, בגלל המלחמה ההיא, ''Biglal Hamilkhama Hahi'') is a feature-length Hebrew-language documentary about Yehuda Poliker and Ya'akov Gilad, the sons of Holocaust survivors. History The movie, which came out in ...

'' (Hebrew: ''B'Glal Hamilhamah Hahi''), which featured music by his son. The film included interviews with Yehuda Poliker and Yaakov Gilad, whose parents,

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lo ...

, also survived Auschwitz.

Book

In 2019, Poliker's book ''My Shadow and I'' was published by Yedioth Books. The book depicts situations and imagery from his childhood and adolescents, from the vantage point of both a child and an adult.

Awards and recognition

In 2012, Poliker won the ACUM Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, Poliker received the Gold Cross of the Order of the Phoenix, one of Greece's highest awards for achievement in the arts. The award was presented by the Greek ambassador to Israel, Spyridon Lampridis.

Personal life

He is openly gay.

References

External links

A page about Yehuda Poliker
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poliker, Yehuda 1950 births Living people Gold Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Israeli guitarists Jewish Israeli musicians Jewish Israeli artists Israeli people of Greek-Jewish descent Israeli male painters Israeli pop singers Israeli gay musicians Israeli gay artists Israeli LGBT singers Israeli LGBT songwriters Israeli LGBT painters Musicians from Haifa Artists from Haifa 20th-century Israeli male singers 21st-century Israeli male singers 20th-century Israeli male artists 21st-century Israeli male artists 20th-century Israeli painters 21st-century Israeli painters Gay singers Gay songwriters Gay painters Gay Jews 20th-century Israeli LGBT people 21st-century Israeli LGBT people