Zemereshet

Zemereshet (Hebrew: זֶמֶרֶשֶׁת) is an Israeli digital project and public-benefit company dedicated to rescuing, documenting and making accessible early Hebrew songs — the Hebrew popular songs written and sung from the beginning of Zionism until the early years of the State of Israel. Its founders describe themselves as a group of enthusiasts of early Hebrew song who set out to save from extinction the songs created in Hebrew from the dawn of Zionism to the founding of the state, and to make them available to the public. The project operates as a website and online database, and is registered as a public benefit company in Israel. The core of Zemereshet is its song archive. As of July 2022 the site presented 7,770 songs and 15,364 recordings, allowing users to read lyrics and listen to performances — often by the leading performers of the period, and sometimes by veteran residents of the country or participants in Zemereshet events. Many songs are offered in multiple recordings, and credits can be attached to a song alongside its lyrics. The site operates legally under a license from ACUM (the Israeli society of composers, authors and music publishers), and therefore most performances cannot be downloaded but are offered for free public listening. Beyond the archive, Zemereshet runs public sing-along events in various places in Israel, held roughly every two months and led by the singer Noga Eshed. It also produces new creative projects. One such project is "Sharsheret Zahav" ("Golden Chain"), which presents new arrangements and performances of early Hebrew songs, featuring artists such as Alon Oleartchik, Noga Eshed, Shai Tsabari, Michal Lotan, Adi Luz, Talia Eliav, Tamarada, Lela Tamar and the Bat Galim choir. The project mixes well-known songs with forgotten gems in new musical dress, aimed at the whole family, and is distributed through streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. The website also functions as a reference resource on the people behind the songs. It publishes articles and research on creators and performers, such as the composer Avraham Mindlin, including lectures and investigations into forgotten figures and even the discovery of unmarked graves. It offers selected reading pages on works such as the opera "Dan Hashomer" by Marc Lavry, based on a play by S. Shalom, in an adaptation by Max Brod. Zemereshet positions itself as an emergency project for the rescue and digitization of early Hebrew song. Its declared goals include acting immediately to save endangered materials, with emphasis on the physical carriers of the works; building a database containing as much detail as possible about early Hebrew song — songs, recordings, sheet music, lyrics and biographies of composers, writers and performers of the period; transmitting early Hebrew song to the general public, with emphasis on younger generations, through song events and other means; and an overarching goal of distributing these materials and making them accessible to all via the Internet. In 2025 the Zemereshet project won the Engel Prize of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality.

Zemereshet was founded as a digital project and public-benefit company in Israel with the mission of preserving early Hebrew song. Its founders describe themselves as a group of enthusiasts of early Hebrew song who set out to save from extinction the songs written and sung in Hebrew from the beginning of Zionism until the founding of the State of Israel, as a first stage, and to make them accessible to the public. The project defines itself as an "emergency project for the rescue and digitization of early Hebrew song." The initiative emerged against a background of what its founders saw as insufficient institutional care and limited public interest in early Hebrew song. They emphasized the importance of saving materials and preserving them for future generations. The project's declared goals included immediate action to save endangered materials, with emphasis on the physical carriers of the works; establishing a database with as much detail as possible about early Hebrew song, including songs, recordings, sheet music, lyrics and biographies of composers, writers and performers of the period; transmitting early Hebrew song to the general public, especially younger generations, through song events and other means; and an overarching goal of distributing these materials and making them accessible to all via the Internet. The website grew into a substantial archive. As of July 2022 it presented 7,770 songs and 15,364 recordings, with lyrics and performances available for reading and listening. Many songs have multiple recordings, and credits can be attached alongside lyrics. The site operates legally under an ACUM license, so most performances are offered for free listening rather than download. Thousands of additional songs from the 1950s were uploaded to the web in the Israel Broadcasting Authority's "Otzar HaZemer HaIvri" project. Zemereshet also became a public cultural activity. It holds sing-along events in various places in Israel roughly every two months, led by the singer Noga Eshed. It publishes articles and research on figures such as the composer Avraham Mindlin, including lectures and investigations into forgotten creators and the discovery of unmarked graves. It offers selected reading pages on works such as the opera "Dan Hashomer" by Marc Lavry, based on a play by S. Shalom, adapted by Max Brod. In 2025 the Zemereshet project won the Engel Prize of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. The project also launched "Sharsheret Zahav" ("Golden Chain"), a new project of arrangements and performances of early Hebrew songs featuring Alon Oleartchik, Noga Eshed, Shai Tsabari, Michal Lotan, Adi Luz, Talia Eliav, Tamarada, Lela Tamar and the Bat Galim choir, distributed via Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.

• Zemereshet website and archive established as a public-benefit project to preserve early Hebrew song.

• By July 2022, the site presented 7,770 songs and 15,364 recordings.

• Zemereshet project won the Engel Prize of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality in 2025.

• Launch of "Sharsheret Zahav" project with new arrangements and performances of early Hebrew songs.

A public-benefit digital archive and emergency preservation project for early Hebrew song, operating legally under an ACUM license and offering free public listening.

• Zemereshet website and song database

  Online archive of early Hebrew songs with lyrics, recordings, credits and biographies.

• Sharsheret Zahav

  Project of new arrangements and performances of early Hebrew songs, distributed via streaming services.

1. 1זֶמֶרֶשֶׁת - הזמר העברי המוקדםzemereshet.co.il
2. 2Zemereshet - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3זמרשת - Wikipedia (Hebrew)he.wikipedia.org