Astar Shamir, one of the pioneering women of Israeli rock and the writer, composer, and performer behind some of the best-known songs in the Israeli canon, died on Thursday at 71 after a battle with cancer, her family announced.
She died peacefully, surrounded by her family, they said.
ACUM, the Israeli composers, authors, and music publishers’ rights organization, mourned Shamir as “a creator, author, singer, ACUM board member, and extraordinary woman.”
Shamir began her career in the Nahal entertainment troupe, where many of Israel’s best-known performers got their start.
In 1975, her song “Avarti Rak Kedei Lirot” (“I Passed By Just to See”) with music by her then-husband and creative partner Efraim Shamir, who was in the band Kaveret, became a major hit.
She wrote the lyrics when she was only 21, shortly after leaving the Nahal troupe, and the song became a classic.
In 1982, she released her first solo album, Bamakom Hachi Namuch B’Tel Aviv (At the Lowest Place in Tel Aviv), which was widely regarded as a breakthrough in Israeli women’s rock. Over the years, she released several more albums.
Throughout her musical career, Shamir collaborated with many leading Israeli artists – writing for them, composing with them, and recording alongside them.
Among those associated with her work were Gali Atari, Yehudit Ravitz, Rita, Dorit Reuveni, Shlomo Artzi, Edna Lev, Yardena Arazi, Izhar Ashdot, Yehudit Tamir, Lea Shabbat, Yehuda Poliker, Nurit Galron, Danny Bassan, Riki Gal, and many others.
'Diverse, groundbreaking pioneer'
Shamir’s songs became part of the soundtrack of Israeli life, among them “Avarti Rak Kedei Lirot” with Efraim Shamir, “Hazaka Meharuach” (“Stronger Than the Wind”), and “Gachliliot” (“Fireflies”).
She was considered one of the first Israeli women to bring a distinctly female rock voice to the center of the local music scene. In 2023, she received a special ACUM prize for her contribution to Israeli music and culture.
In recent years, she also served as a member of ACUM’s board of directors and worked to advance the rights and welfare of Israeli creators, including through ACUM’s welfare fund.
Only weeks before her death, Shamir spoke publicly about facing terminal cancer, saying in an interview that although her body had deteriorated, she was not afraid of death, but did not want to leave the people she loved.
This year, she also released the song “Betzad Hasheni Shel Hapachad” (“On the Other Side of Fear”) with Yahel Doron.
Yoav Ginai, chairman of ACUM’s board of directors, said in the organization’s statement: “On behalf of the entire ACUM board of directors, I express deep sorrow and pain over the untimely departure from us of the late Astar Shamir.”
“She was a fascinating, diverse, and groundbreaking creator, one of the pioneers of Israeli rock and the recipient of the ACUM Prize for 2023. She left behind precious assets that made an indelible mark on Israeli culture,” the statement added.
“Her contribution to Israeli music and to the countless artists with whom she worked is invaluable,” Ginai continued.
“Beyond this enormous contribution, Astar Shamir fulfilled another important role on behalf of the community of creators in Israel, serving until her last day as chairwoman of ACUM’s Creator Welfare Fund Committee,” the statement read.
“Her great sensitivity to this issue inspired us all. I pledge that we will continue on this path and continue to walk in her light,” it concluded.