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Imber Naftali Herz
(1856–1909)

Naftali Herz was a Jewish poet and Zionist who wrote the lyrics of Hatikvah, the national anthem of Israel. Also known as Naftali Tzvi Imber, Naftali Zvi Imber, Naftali Hertz Imber and Naftali Hirsch Imber. Naftali was born in Zloczow (Galicia, now Ukraine, then part of the Austrian Empire). He wrote his poems since the age of 10. Several years later he was awarded by Franz Joseph for the poem on the centenary of Bukovina's joining to Austrian Empire. In his youth he travelled in Hungary, Serbia, Romania. In 1882 he moved to Palestine as a secretary of Sir Laurence Oliphant. In 1886 in Jerusalem he published his first book of poems entitled Morning Star (Hebrew: ברקאי, Barkai‎). One of the book's poems was Tikvateinu ("Our Hope"); its very first version was written yet in 1877 in Iaşi, Romania. This poem soon became the lyrics of the Zionist anthem and later the Israeli national anthem Hatikvah. In 1887 he returned to Europe and lived in London; then travelled again, visited India and finally moved to the USA in 1892. He died in New York in 1909 from chronic alcoholism; in 1953 was re-interred in Jerusalem.

Israel, 1978, Hatikva, 1st Verse