TEL AVIV, Israel, June 26 (UPI) -- One of Israel's most prolific and beloved song writers died Saturday in Tel Aviv after a serious illness, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Naomi Shemer was 74.
Her most famous piece, "Jerusalem of Gold," was written in 1967. In 1983 she received the prestigious Israel Prize for Hebrew song.
That prize panel said "Her songs are a wonderful fusion of lyrics and melody which express the people's hidden feelings so completely."
After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Shemer wrote the song "Lu Yehi," intended as an expression of hope.
Following the assassination of then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, Shemer set a Hebrew translation of Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" to music.
Her body will be buried Sunday in her hometown of Kvutzat Kinneret, in northern Israel.
