Rika Zaraï

Rika Zaraï (Hebrew: ריקה זראי‎; born 19 February 1938) is an Israeli singer and writer. Rika Gozman (later Zarai) was born in Jerusalem. In the 1950s, the Israeli writer, Aharon Megged, wrote a musical for the IDF Central Command entertainment troupe about five soldiers falling in love with five country girls. In 1956, it was produced commercially by the Ohel theater starring Rika Zarai. The music was written by her husband Yochanan Zarai, with lyrics and melodies by Naomi Shemer.In 1969, Zarai rose to fame with her songs Casatschok and Alors je chante, the French version of Vivo Cantando. She went on to have a successful career in Europe, where she popularized Israeli classic songs such as Hava Nagila, Yerushalayim shel zahav and Hallelujah. Zarai sings in Hebrew, English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. She lives in Paris but visits Israel periodically. According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronoth in 2008, she suffered a stroke which paralyzed the left side of her body.