"Exciting, full of passion for life and men, rebellious, a star": The surprising face of Naomi Shemer
A new documentary, "Naomi Shemer, Between Grass and Stone," reveals a lesser-known side of the iconic Israeli songwriter and composer: an exciting, passionate, rebellious woman and a star, far from her public "aunt" image. The film, airing on Kan 11, is based on personal diaries, letters, and interviews with those close to her, showcasing her struggles with her mother, her right-wing political views, and her relationships with men and her children.
A new documentary, "Naomi Shemer, Between Grass and Stone," airing in two parts on Kan 11, reveals a lesser-known side of the national songwriter and composer. The filmmakers, Shay Lahav and Ron Omer, present Shemer as a woman "exciting, full of passion for life and men, rebellious, confrontational, a star," in contrast to her public image as an "aunt" in oversized dresses. The film is based on dozens of personal diaries, letters, and notes from her archive, alongside interviews with her close friends Rivka Michaeli and Dalia Gutman, director Tzadi Tzarfati, and her children, Lali Shemer and Ariel Horowitz. It focuses on her complex relationship with her mother, who belittled her songs, her constant drive to prove herself, and her right-wing political views that led to social ostracism. The film presents the duality in her personality: both a public emissary and a rebel, both a loving mother and a passionate woman. At the end of her life, Shemer admitted that the melody of "Jerusalem of Gold" was influenced by a Basque folk song, after years of denial.