Israeli musician and author Yehonatan Geffen has passed away at the age of 76, his family announced today (Wednesday).
"It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of our loved one," the family said in a statement. Gefen leaves behind three children - singer Aviv Geffen, composer Shira Geffen and Natasha Geffen.
Gefen, who was born in Nahalel in northern Israel in 1976 and the nephew of former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, wrote a column in Maariv newspaper for about 40 years. He did his military service in a paratrooper unit and fought in the Six Day War. Already while he was a soldier, he published his first poetry book.
Geffen wrote numerous children's books. In the 1980s, a number of his poems were performed as songs for the album "The Sixteenth Sheep," one of Israel's all-time best-selling musical albums.
He was eulogized by leading Israeli figures.
President Isaac Herzog said that Geffen was “someone who knew how to capture the smallest and biggest moments, and turn them into eternal texts.”
“It is hard to imagine the existence of Israeli art, our hymns, the worlds of literature and theater without his unique and unforgettable contribution,” the President added.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said: "A short time ago, my 'big brother' Yohonatan Geffen passed away. He has a poem called 'The Little Prince from Combany B:' " If you ever come this way, you will know that this is where he fell, fell without making a sound, on the soft sand below." We lost today an important and beloved Israeli voice. May his memory be blessed."
Geffen was known for his left-wing views. In 2008, he said in an interview with Haaretz: "Israel has aged terribly fast. I am the same age as the country, and I look better, don't I?" In 2018, he published an Instagram post with a picture of himself wearing a shirt which read: "All a suicide bomber needs is a hug." That same year, he published a poem on Instagram comparing Arab provocateur Ahed Tamini to the famous Holocaust victim Anne Frank, as well as Hannah Senesh and Joan of Arc.