Israeli entertainer Arik Einstein, whose crooning hit tunes and comedic turns on screen endeared him to generations of Israelis, died on Tuesday in a Tel Aviv hospital at the age of 74 after suffering a fatal hemorrhage.
“The songs he composed and sang are the soundtrack for Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “With much sadness Israel parts with a cultural giant.”
Einstein started out in a military entertainment troupe before joining a pop band, and then went on to have a prolific solo career. He also starred in a number of cult movies and a satirical television show.
His rendition of the song “Cry For You” became the unofficial Israeli requiem for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.
Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Doina Chiacu
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.