Arik Einstein laid to rest
Israeli singer, cultural icon Arik Einstein laid to rest in Tel Aviv's Trumpledor Cemetery. Casket placed at Rabin Square before funeral procession heads to cemetery to allow fans to pay last respects
The legendary Israeli singer and cultural icon, Arik Einstein who passed away Tuesday evening, was laid to rest Wednesday in Tel Aviv's Trumpledor Cemetery.
Thousands of people – among them Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and almost the entirety of Israel's cultural scene – attended the funeral. Earlier Wednesday, thousands gathered at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square where Einstein's casket was placed to allow fans to pay their last respects.
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Thousands of people gathered at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square where the casket of legendary singer Arik Einstein was placed to allow fans to pay their last respects. From there, the funeral procession contiued to the Trumpledor Cemetery where Einstein will be laid to rest.
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat is also attending the memorial rally. Singer Shalom Hanoch and actor Moni Monoshov were among those to appear at the ceremony.
Eulogizing Einstein, Netanyahu said, "We all grew up on your songs, laughed to tears from your skits, were thrilled by your movies. In a nation of great creators and great singers, it's not easy to say but it's true – you were the biggest of them all."
Rabbi Uri Zohar, Einstein's close friend and father of his daughter's husbands, will eulogize him at the funeral.
The Trumpeldor Cemetery – a local icon in its own right – is home to many Israel leaders and personalities, among them Israel's national poet Haim Nachman Bialik, Zionist leader, writer and thinker Ahad Ha'am and singer Shoshana Damari, who was the last person to be laid to rest in Tel Aviv's old cemetery.
Damari was supposed to be the last person laid to rest in the iconic cemetery, which has been packed to full capacity for some time now. However, a place was found Einstien, a scion and symbol of Tel Aviv.
Widely considered one of the greatest singers in Israel's history, Einstein died Tuesday evening at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
Einstein, 74, was evacuated from his home in critical condition at around 7 pm due to an aortic aneurysm. He was rushed to the emergency room, where he underwent a series of tests while being anaesthetized and given artificial respiration.
He was later taken into the operating room, where doctors attempted to fight for his life but were forced to pronounce him dead.
"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."
President Shimon Peres said that Einstein's songs are the soundtrack of an entire nation; his voice was holding the people and embracing the land… I loved his songs from an early age. Though he's gone, his songs will continue to play life and hope."
(Photo: Ido Erez)
(Photo: Ido Erez)
(Photo: Ido Erez)
(Photo: Ido Erez)
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
'Am Yisrael loves you'
Rabbi Uri Zohar, one of Einstein's closest friends, could not hold back the tears while eulogizing his dear friend. "You only lived the good; you couldn’t bear to understand the bad. Am Yisrael loves you."
"I say goodbye to you, but I can't leave you… We know you did a lot of good to a lot of people – not because you were a singer or an actor, but because you're you. When the messiah will come, I want to see you before I want to see him."
One of Einstein's closest friends, prominent Israel actor Moni Moshonov, said: "I am an actor, so I must play a role here for the tears to not choke my throat."
"Arik, you were an only child and throughout your entire life you collected so many brothers and sisters. From a big fan of yours I became your friend, you were an uncle to my children, a friend to my parents, and you were so happy when we made that children's tape together."
Kobi Nachshoni, Itay Blumenthal, Gilad Morag and Shahar Chai contributed to this report
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