Background
Haim Feiner (later Hefer) was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1925 to Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife.
Haim Feiner (later Hefer) was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1925 to Issachar Feiner, a chocolate salesman, and Rivka Herzberg, a housewife.
He never finished high school and joined the Palmach in 1943.
He had a private Hebrew tutor. His family immigrated to Palestine in 1936 and settled in Raanana. He began writing at the age of 13, as part of a national contest.
He took part in smuggling illegal immigrants through Syria and Lebanon.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he was one of the founders of the Chizbatron, the Palmach army troupe, and was its chief songwriter. Hefer owned a house in Ein Hod, but resided in Tel Aviv.
In 1975−1978 Hefer was a cultural attaché at the Israeli Consulate in Los Los Angeles On 18 September 2012 (the second day of Rosh Hashanah, 5773), Hefer died at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, after a long illness.
In the 1950s, Hefer and Dahn Ben-Amotz wrote A Bag of Fibs, a collection of tall tales made up in the Palmach, and founded the "Hamam" club in Jaffa.
During that time, he founded "Revi"iat Moadon HaTeatron" (Theater Club Quartet). He wrote a weekly column for Yediot Aharonot, which included maqamas on current affairs He was later made a cultural attache to the Israeli consul in Los Los Angeles
He wrote for dozens of composers, including Sasha Argov, Moshe Wilensky and Dubi Seltzer.
Artists who performed his songs include Arik Lavie, Yehoram Gaon, Shoshana Damari and Yafa Yarkoni, as well as The High Windows and most Israeli military bands. He wrote lyrics for musicals, including Kazablan and I Like Mike.
Many of his songs, such as "Hafinjan" (The Billy Kettle), "Hayu Zmanim" (In Those Days) and "Hamilkhama Ha"achrona" (The Last War) are considered Israeli classics. He also published several collections of his verses.
Shortly before the 1948 war, he wrote a song titled "Between the Borders", about immigration.
lieutenant included the words "We are here, a defensive shield". In 2002, the Israel Defense Forces (Israel Defense Forces) launched an operation in the West Bank and named it Operation Defensive Shield. In 2002, Hefer described Moroccan Jewish culture as inferior to that of the Polish Jews.
He called Aviv Geffen a phony and criticized Yaffa Yarkoni for badmouthing the Israel Defense Forces. Hefer made a public apology and wrote a song for singer Zehava Ben.
His remarks were condemned as racist and criticized by then President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, members of the Moroccan community, and representatives of the Shas Party, as well as Mizrahi musicians such as Margalit Tzan"ani.