Yaffa Yarkoni was born in Israel more than two decades before the realization of a Jewish State and began her musical career as a singer in a coffee house owned by her mother. She later became one of Israel's most important singers.
Her songs have accompanied the nation from its very inception - especially in times of war which earned her the name "Singer of the Wars". In 1967, after Israel captured Jerusalem's Old City, it was Yaffa who sang Jerusalem of Gold in front of the Western Wall, an event that remains etched into the minds of an entire nation.
During the many years she her career she recorded more than 60 record albums in numerous languages including Hebrew, French, English, and Spanish.
In 1998, on Israel's fiftieth anniversary of independence, she was awarded the Israel Prize for her contribution to Israeli music.
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