Yardena Arazi

Yardena Shulamit Arazi (born Yardena Finebaum; Hebrew: ירדנה ארזי; September 25, 1951) is an Israeli singer and entertainer. In 2008 Arazi was named the most popular Israeli singer of all time at the 60th Independence Day celebration. Yardena Finebaum was born on kibbutz Kabri, Israel, to a Jewish family. Her father was an immigrant from Germany who was an Irgun veteran and one of the founders of kibbutz Beit HaArava. Her mother was an immigrant from France with origins in Poland and Ukraine, and was a cousin of Marcel Marceau. At the age of two, her family moved to Haifa, Israel, where she grew up. The family also lived briefly in France. She joined the Beit Rothschild group at age 16 and became its lead vocalist. She did her military service in the Nahal entertainment troupe. In the 1970s, Yardena Arazi was a member of the female vocal trio Chocolate, Menta, Mastik along with Leah Lupatin and Ruthie Holzman. The group represented Israel in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Emor Shalom ("Say Hello"), placing sixth. After the Eurovision competition, they began an international tour that included Brazil, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium; releasing several singles in English, French and German and appeared in many TV shows all over Europe. Arazi left the band in 1978. In 1979, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) asked Arazi to co-host the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem with news anchor Daniel Pe'er. Arazi, who is fluent in Hebrew and French…