Composer of `Peace Song’ dies. Israeli composer Yair Rosenblum, whose “Peace Song” was the anthem of the Nov. 4 Tel Aviv rally where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was slain, has died in Holon after a two-year illness.
He was 52.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Rosenblum served as musical director of the Israel Defense Force chorus. In recent years, he worked with various bands and choral groups.
Rosenblum wrote more than 1,000 songs, including “Ammunition Hill,” “In a Red Dress,” “The Beautiful Life,” “Tranquility,” “Hallelujah” and “With What Will I Bless Him.”
But it was “Peace Song,” which came out in 1970, that was banned from being broadcast on Army Radio.
At the peace rally in Tel Aviv, Rabin and then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres sang “Peace Song.”
After Rabin was shot, a bloodstained copy of the lyrics was removed from the pocket of his jacket.
In 10 days, Rosenblum was to be honored by the Association of Musicians and Songwriters for his life’s work.
He was to be buried Wednesday at Kibbutz Einat.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
