Naomi Shemer’s Archive Reveals a Softer Side
Crossposted from Haaretz
The 17 cartons that held Naomi Shemer’s private archive contained a small black telephone book and tucked in its pages was a note in which the popular songwriter jotted down an extra stanza to “Jerusalem of Gold” at the end of the Six Day War: Just four lines in all, plus numerous erasures and doubts. The first line was changed from “The wells are ours” to “are ours” and added “We returned to.” This very tiny adjustment, just one word in Hebrew, still reflects the national (and individual ) mood of the time.
There is no mention of Shemer’s use of a Basque song, a theft that came to light only years later, and there is none in the archive, or at least none the family agreed to publicize.
The note is just an appetizer. Shemer’s archive, recently moved to the National Library in Jerusalem, contains hundreds of recordings, drafts and personal letters, which reveal her character as far more complex than the tough image she liked to project.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.