Biography

Chava Alberstein (born December 8, 1947 in Szczecin, Poland) is an Israeli singer, lyricist, composer, musical arranger and an actress. She is one of the most important Israeli singers, with a career spanning more than forty years.

Chava Alberstein was born in the town of Szczecin in Northern Poland. She came to Israel at age four, and grew up in Kiryat Chaim. In 1964, when she was 17, a nightclub appearance in Jaffa led to a CBS recording contract. She was drafted into the Israel Defense Force in 1965 and became one of the many Israeli artists to use entertaining the troops as a pathway to stardom. Since then she has released over 50 albums. She is one of the more famous Israelis to record in Yiddish as well as Hebrew and Arabic. Alberstein’s husband is the filmmaker Nadav Levitan, who wrote all the lyrics on her “End of the Holiday” album. She is one of the recipients of Kinor David (David’s Harp) Prize.