Shulamit Livnat, “Israeli singer from the underground”, dies aged 91
Shulamit Livnat, who was known as the singer of the underground movements in pre-state Israel, died on Wednesday morning before dawn. She was 91 years old.
Born in Vienna, as a member of the Adler family, she came by boat with her parents to Haifa in the mid-1930s. They had traveled via Poland to bid farewell to Livnat’s grandparents.
After leaving school, she joined the Palmach, which gave her special leave to help her mother, who at 42 was pregnant, and who gave birth to a boy on the significant date of November 29, 1947 – the UN vote approving the partition plan. for Palestine.
In one of the many interviews she gave, Livnat said that while most of the people in the country were dancing the streets that day to celebrate the United Nations vote, in her family they had another reason to celebrate.
Livnat has always loved to sing, and her talent was first recognized by songwriter and poet Haim Hefer, who brought her to the Palmach entertainment unit. She then joined the IDF’s entertainment unit.
Around the age of 20, she meets Uziel Livnat, a veteran of Etzel and Lehi, who is planning to create a musical theater and is looking for a singer. They got married a year later.
In addition to changing status, Livnat also changed its policy, moving strongly to the right. The politics of the time did not interfere in his career. She was extremely popular and among the first Israelis to perform at concerts abroad.
But in the 1980s, a few years after the political administration had turned to the right, Livnat recorded the hymns of Etzel and Lehi, as a result of which she ironically fell out of favor with the public and was put in the spotlight. ban from the music industry.
Azriel never recovered from the death of her grandson.
But Shulamit persevered and, at 90, recorded a new album.
She also left her home in Ramat Gan and went to live with her granddaughter and great-grandchildren in the West Bank.
In recent weeks, she complained of not feeling well, so her family took her to the hospital, where she was declared seriously ill and had very little time to live.
She accepted this with her usual stoicism and agreed to be transferred to a hospice, where the end came quickly.
Always a beautiful woman, who was adept at using cosmetics to her best advantage, she was as beautiful in death as in life, according to her daughter.
Praising her, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that she had been a woman of greater Israel and a magnificent singer, who had greatly contributed to the development of Israel. When she joined the Palmach, he said, it was as a combat soldier.
His excellent work along with that of other members of the underground movement generation has proven to be an inalienable asset, he said, as he conveyed his condolences to the Livnat family.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Justice Minister Gideon Saar, who noted Livnat’s strong character and Zionist values. He recalled that no matter what the circumstances, she would always strive to attend Lehi’s annual memorial service and sing “Hayalim Almonim“(Soldiers Anonymous), Lehi’s hymn written by organization founder Yair Stern.