Ofra Haza; Israeli, Pop Music Star

Ofra Haza, 41, a singer who melded Yemenite Jewish devotional poetry with 1980s techno music to become Israel’s first international pop music success. The youngest of nine siblings in a Yemenite Jewish family who lived in a Tel Aviv slum, Haza was discovered at age 12 by a talent scout. Singing in Hebrew and English, Haza was a bubble gum pop success by the time she was 19. “She was Israel’s first female pop idol,” said Benny Dudkevitch, Israel radio’s pop music editor. Her 1985 release “Yemenite Songs,” with a photo of her in full Yemenite wedding garb on the cover, was an instant hit in Israel. She continued to make high-profile appearances in the 1990s performing in Oslo when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She also sang the role of Moses’ mother in the 1998 animated film “The Prince of Egypt.” On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Haza represented the Israeli success story. “Ofra emerged from the Hatikvah slums to reach the peak of Israeli culture,” he said. “She has left a mark on us all.” There was no word on funeral arrangements, or information about survivors other than her husband, businessman Doron Ashkenazi. On Wednesday at Tel Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv. The cause of death was not disclosed.