Yafa Yarkoni (Abramov) - biography

Yafa Yarkoni (Hebrew: יפה ירקוני‎, also transliterated Yaffah Yarqoni, born Yafa Abramov on 24 December 1925) is an Israeli singer, known as the War Singer, due to her frequent appearances in front of Israel Defense Forces soldiers, especially during Israel's wars. She is from a Caucasian Jewish family.

Yarkoni was born in Giv'atayim. At an early age, she was a ballet dancer under Gertrude Kraus, one of Israel's choreography pioneers. She married Joseph Gustin, a volunteer in the Jewish Brigade, in August 1940, and was widowed when Gustin was killed in a battle for the Senio River in 1945.

Yarkoni joined an IDF musical group in the Givati Brigade, which was active during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Bab el-Wad, a song she performed at the time which is still sung today on Yom HaZikaron, became a major symbol of the war. After the war, she performed songs for a program on the Kol Yisrael radio station.

Yarkoni was the main (or only) performer of hundreds of songs ever since. Most of them were written by Tuli Reviv and Haim Hefer. Yarkoni also performed some of Naomi Shemer's early children's songs.

The media has characterized Yarkoni as the War Singer, due to her performances during wars and in front of soldiers, and reported on an alleged feud between her and Shoshana Damari. In an interview, Yarkoni strongly rejected the report and said she resents the label of "War Singer".