Gali Atari

Gali Atari was born on 29 December 1953 and grew up in the Sha’arayim neighborhood of Rehovot, in a family with Yemeni roots.[1][4] The youngest of seven children, she was the sister of singer and actress Yona Atari and radio broadcaster Shosh Atari.[1][4] Her father, a cantor, died when she was four.[4]

At nine and a half, Atari was sent to Hadassim boarding school.[4] At fifteen and a half, she moved to Tel Aviv to live with Yona.[4] She began recording songs at seventeen, including “Yesh Lekha Shemesh,” written by Shimrit Or, David Krivoshei, and Moti Hamer, which she performed as Israel’s representative at the Tokyo Music Festival.[1]

At eighteen, Atari went to New York, where she appeared with her sister Yona and Hanan Goldblatt in the musical “To Live Another Summer, To Pass Another Winter.”[1] She also performed at Aris San’s New York club and studied jazz and voice.[1] After returning to Israel, she worked to restart her music career through festival appearances and children’s television programs.[1] In 1976, she again represented Israel at the Tokyo festival, singing “Bo Hayom,” composed by Kobi Oshrat with lyrics by Shosh Atari; she subsequently represented Israel at a festival in Puerto Rico.[1]

Her film debut came in Avi Nesher’s 1978 comedy-drama-musical “The Troupe,” also known as “Halahaka,” about an army entertainment troupe.[5] Atari and several fellow cast members were still largely unknown when it was made; she and Gidi Gov were among its young performers who later became prominent in Israeli entertainment.[5] Her performance brought her the title “Actress of the Year” and the Silver Rose award.[1]

Also in 1978, Atari placed third at the Israel Song Festival with “Prince of Dreams (Valentino),” written by Shimrit Or and Kobi Oshrat.[1][6] The song had originally been intended for Ilanit at the 1977 festival but had been rejected as “too foreign”; its sound drew on the disco trend of the period.[6] Its success helped bring Atari wider recognition and accompanied the release of her debut album, “Prince of Dreams.”[1] The album included “Yesh Lekha Shemesh,” “Bo Hayom,” “Itto,” and the title song, as well as a recording with Eli Magen.[1][6]

Atari performed “Hallelujah” with Milk and Honey at the 1979 Israel Song Festival, whose winner would represent Israel at Eurovision in Jerusalem.[6] Written by Shimrit Or and Kobi Oshrat, the same team behind “Prince of Dreams,” the song won the festival and advanced to Eurovision.[1][6]

On 31 March 1979, Atari and Milk and Honey performed “Hallelujah” at the Eurovision Song Contest and won, giving Israel its second consecutive victory.[7] Jerusalem hosted the contest because Israel had won the previous year with “A-Ba-ni-bi.”[2] The 1979 competition was the first Eurovision held outside Europe.[2]

Atari and Oshrat later recalled an unusual message delivered to the Israeli delegation on the day of the final.[8] Two girls approached them with advice from their grandmother: entering the building right-foot-first and reciting “And Noah found favor in the eyes of God” seven times would bring victory.[8]

“Hallelujah” became a major European chart hit, and its success established Atari beyond Israel.[2][6] Recorded in several languages, the single sold 4.5 million copies.[6] Atari and Milk and Honey performed throughout Europe and appeared on television pop programs alongside Michael Jackson and Elton John.[6] Their first album was recorded quickly to capitalize on the Eurovision attention; half its material was in English, and its songs included “Galgal Anashim” and “Shemesh Aduma.”[6]

According to the Center for Israel Education, Turkey withdrew from the 1979 contest under pressure from Arab countries protesting the lack of discussion and resolution of the Palestinian issue.[2]

Hosting Eurovision had been costly for Israel’s limited broadcasting resources, and the Israel Broadcasting Authority subsequently declined to host the 1980 contest while prioritizing the transition to color broadcasting.[2] Atari left Milk and Honey in 1981, following a dispute with manager Shlomo Tzach, and resumed her solo career.[1] Her departure occurred during work on the group’s second album, when she wanted to concentrate on solo work.[6]

Atari’s 1981 album “Take Me Home” was made with composer and arranger Yaroslav Yakobovitch and included “Duet Prida,” performed with Menny Beger.[1] “Mameriah BaRuach,” released in 1984, was produced and arranged by Matti Caspi.[1] Her 1986 album “Emtza September” included “Ein Li Eretz Acheret,” “Hakol Omed Bamakom,” and “Sof Ha’Onah” and sold more than 30,000 copies.[1][6]

“Ein Li Eretz Acheret” was written by Ehud Manor and composed by Corinne Allal.[6] Manor wrote its lyrics during the First Lebanon War, drawing on his feelings about the death of his brother Yehuda in the War of Attrition; Atari’s recording was released in 1986.[6] The song reached her after singer Arik Sinai declined it and his manager, Solo Yorman, passed it on.[6]

Atari embraced the song and played her record company a recording of herself singing it with Allal’s guitar accompaniment.[9] During the studio sessions, Allal was called back because the arrangement seemed to have weakened its effect.[9] She recalled that the backing track was so full of guitars that the song’s meaning was difficult to grasp, and reduced the accompaniment to piano, drums, bass, and a small guitar part alongside Atari’s voice.[9]

Recorded in May and June 1987 and released in early 1988, “One Step Before the River,” or “Tza’ad Echad Lifnei HaNahar,” was Atari’s fifth solo album.[3] Ilan Virtsberg served as its musical producer.[3] It became her most successful album, selling more than 80,000 copies and reaching double-platinum status.[3]

Six tracks entered the annual Hebrew song chart: “Nepal” placed second, “Od Me’at” eleventh, “Mekitz el Halom” seventeenth, “Ksamim” twentieth, “Rak Etmol” twenty-fifth, and “N.B.” twenty-seventh.[3] The record received the Album of the Year title, and Atari followed its release with a successful concert tour.[3] Her subsequent releases included “Bereshit” in 1989 and the collection “Rak Etmol” in 1991.[1]

Atari’s 1992 album “Bayom She’acharei” included “Chazaka MeRuach,” which brought her the “Singer of the Year” title for the sixth time.[6] She also began composing some of her own material, contributing two compositions to that album and five to “Simanim” in 1994.[6] The latter album included “Hashir SheYavi Lecha Ahava.”[6]

Her career experienced a downturn in the mid-1990s, although she continued recording and performing.[1] The 2003 album “Chabek Oti Le’at” received critical praise and achieved commercial success.[1] Its major hit, “Ma She’At Ohevet,” written by Meir Goldberg and composed by Yitzhak Klepter, became a comeback song for her.[6]

In 2008, Atari released “Bein Ha’esh Uvein Hamayim,” dedicating it to her sister Shosh, who died that year.[1] Sagiv Cohen wrote and composed all the songs; Atari had met him after he appeared on Shosh’s radio program.[1] Atari said she stopped working for approximately six weeks after her sister’s death before returning to the album.[10]

Atari marked four decades in music in 2011 with a concert at the Shuni amphitheater, where she planned to host Yishai Levi, Leah Shabbat, and Sagiv Cohen.[4] In 2018, she was scheduled to sing “Hallelujah” with Eden Ben-Zaken at Israel’s official Independence Day celebration marking the country’s seventieth anniversary.[11] In 2023, she revisited “Eretz Tiruf VeNevi’im,” a song written in connection with the First Intifada, in a version with new lyrics.[6]

“Hallelujah” gave Atari an enduring connection to Israel’s Eurovision history through both its international commercial success and her later appearances associated with the song.[6][11] In 2024, she encouraged Israel’s Eurovision representative, Eden Golan, to “embrace and cherish the moment.”[12] Drawing on her own experience, Atari described the pressure and anxiety before a performance, emphasizing that contestants have only three minutes onstage and need everything to be perfect.[12]

Atari has also reflected on the relationship between her repertoire and women’s empowerment.[4] In 2011, she said she had not set out to become a guide on that subject, but regarded the songs associated with it as expressions of her own life.[4] She recalled that the stage had once frightened her but that she had come to view performing as a gift.[4] In a 2008 interview, she similarly described years of uncertainty about whether singing was the right profession before eventually finding her personal and professional footing.[10]

“Ein Li Eretz Acheret” has acquired different political meanings and has been embraced by people on different sides of Israel’s political spectrum.[6] Atari said that she initially understood it as a love song to her country; although she had no objection to performing protest songs, she wondered whether her audience would accept one from her.[13] The song later became a protest slogan, rather than remaining tied to a single political reading.[13]

Atari’s professional relationship with former manager Shlomo Tzach also led to litigation.[10] A legal case she brought against him resulted, after a fourteen-year dispute, in an award of one million shekels in compensation, as reported in a 2008 interview.[10]