History
Naomi Shemer wrote the original song for the Israeli Music Festival (it was not in competition but had been commissioned by the Mayor, Teddy Kollek), held on 15 May 1967, the night after Israel's nineteenth Independence Day. She chose the then-unknown Shuli Nathan to sing the song.
Some of the song's melody is based on a Basque lullaby, Pello Joxepe (Foolish Joseph), composed by Juan Francisco Petriarena 'Xenpelar' (1835-1869), which Shemer had heard in a performance by singer/songwriter Paco Ibañez, who visited Israel in 1962 and sang this song to a group that included Naomi Shemer and Nehama Hendel. Shemer acknowledged hearing Hendel perform Pello Joxepe in the mid-1960s. Shemer said she had unconsciously based some of her melody on the lullaby, and had felt very bad when she found realised she had. Ibañez was asked how he felt when he heard Shemer had based some of the melody on Pello Joxepe. He replied by saying that he was "glad it helped in some way" and that he was not angry and did not perceive it as plagiarism.
At that time, the Old City was still occupied by Jordan and under Jordanian rule; Jews had been exiled from the Old City and all of Jerusalem east of the Old City, losing their homes and possessions, and becoming refugees. All Jews were barred from either returning or entering the areas under Jordanian occupation, and many holy sites were desecrated and damaged during the 19-year occupation by Jordan. Only three weeks after the song was published, the Six-Day War broke out. The song was the battle cry and morale booster of the Israeli troops. Shemer even sang it for them before the war and festival, making them among the first in the world to hear it. On 7 June, the Israel Defense Forces liberated the eastern part of Jerusalem and the Old City from the Jordanians. When Shemer heard the paratroopers singing "Jerusalem of Gold" at the Western Wall, she wrote the final verse, reversing the phrases of lamentation found in the second verse. The line about shofars sounding from the Temple Mount is a reference to an event that actually took place on 7 June.
Read more about this topic: Jerusalem Of Gold
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