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"Jerusalem of Gold" (Hebrew:ירושלים של זהב,romanized: Yerushalayim Shel Zahav) is an Israeli song written byNaomi Shemer. Often contrasted to Israel's national anthem,Hatikva, the original song expressed the deep longing of many Jews to return toJerusalem'sOld City and eastern areas. These areas had been inaccessible to Jews after the1948 Palestine War, when the city was divided andEast Jerusalem came underJordanian control. Following Israel's victory in theSix-Day War, Shemer added a final verse to commemoratethe city's reunification under Israeli control and the restored Jewish access to its holy sites.
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The melody ofYerushalayim Shel Zahav is largely based on theBasque lullaby,Pello Joxepe.[1][2] Naomi Shemer first heard the melody during a visit byPaco Ibáñez to Israel in 1962, where he performed the song to a group that included Shemer[2] and Nehama Hendel.[citation needed] Shemer later acknowledged hearing Hendel perform Pello Joxepe in the 1960s, and had incorporated elements of its melody intoYerushalayim Shel Zahav.[3] Although Shemer felt regret over the similarity, Ibáñez expressed no ill will, stating that he was pleased the melody had contributed in some way and did not view it asplagiarism.[2]
Naomi Shemer wroteYerushalayim Shel Zahav for the Israeli Song Festival, held on May 15, 1967 inWest Jerusalem. The song was commissioned by West Jerusalem's mayor,Teddy Kollek, as a non-competitive piece. Shemer selectedShuli Natan, an unknown singer at the time, to perform the song.[4][5]
At the time, theOld City of Jerusalem had been underJordanian control since the1948 Palestine War. Jews had been expelled from the Old City and East Jerusalem, losing their homes and possessions. Under Jordanian rule, Jews were barred from returning or entering these areas, and many Jewish holy sites were desecrated or damaged.[6] Three weeks after the song's initial public performance, theSix-Day War broke out. The song quickly became a morale-boosting anthem for theIsrael Defense Forces. Shemer performed it for Israeli troops before both the war and the song’s official debut at the Israeli Song Festival, making the soldiers among the first to hear it.
On June 7, 1967, the IDF capturedEast Jerusalem and the Old City from Jordan. Shemer was about to perform for a troop of paratroopers (who were not engaged in combat at the moment) when she received news that theWestern Wall andTemple Mount had been taken by Israeli forces. In response, she hastily wrote a new verse, replacing the original second verse, which lamented the inability to visit the Temple Mount, with a triumphant one that celebrated Israel’s return to the Old City—informing the paratroopers through the song that Israel had captured the holy sites. The new verse referenced the sounding of the shofar at the Temple Mount, a tribute to RabbiShlomo Goren, who had blown the shofar upon the capture of the Western Wall. Shemer later clarified that the new verse was not intended to replace the original, and that the original three verses should remain the official version of the song.[7]
"Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" was chosen as the "Song of the Year" in Israel in 1967 and "Song of the Jubilee" on Israel's 50th Independence Day in 1998.
Many of the lyrics draw from traditional Jewish poetry and themes, particularly those focused on exile and the longing for Jerusalem. The phrase "Jerusalem of Gold" references a piece of jewelry mentioned in a well-knownTalmudic legend aboutRabbi Akiva. The line "To all your songs, I am a lyre" alludes to Zion ha-lo Tish'ali, one of the "Songs to Zion" by RabbiYehuda Halevi, which includes the verse: "I cry out like the jackals when I think of their grief; but, dreaming of the end of their captivity, I am like a harp for your songs."[8]
The song is interwoven with mournfulBiblical references to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish people. איכה (the lament "How?") is the opening word of theBook of Lamentations, and its traditional Hebrew title; the phrase "the city that sits solitary" appears in the second stanza of the song. The line "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem" is drawn fromPsalm 137, which begins with "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion." This sorrowful imagery contrasts with the joyous return from exile depicted in the fourth verse. The phrase "Like the kiss of aSeraph" referencesIsaiah 6:7.
Talmudic references are also present in the song. The phrase "and to adorn crowns to you" invokes the Talmudic concept of crowning, which the Talmud uses to describe several things, including theSandalphon's service to God.[9]
According toSociety of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel, there are over 300 versions of theYerushalayim Shel Zahav. Along with Natan's original recording, notable cover versions have been made by Shemer herself,Yafa Yarkoni, andRan Eliran. It has been translated into several languages, including by Yafa Yarkoni inSpanish and David Eshet inYiddish. Osnat Paz's recorded a rendition on his children's recordMy Land of Israel.
The song is the corps song of the La Crosse, Wisconsin,Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps sings it before every competition.[citation needed]
The song is featured in the 1993 American filmSchindler's List and plays near the end of the film. This caused some controversy in Israel, as the song (which was written in 1967) is widely considered an informal anthem of the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War and has no relationship with the subject matter of the movie. In Israeli prints of the film, the song was replaced withHalikha LeKesariya (lit. "A Walk to Caesarea"), which is universally associated withthe Holocaust in Israel and was written by World War II resistance fighterHannah Szenes in 1942.[15]
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