1 New Sheqel Naomi Shemer

Naomi Shemer, who died in June 2004, was commemorated with this issue the following year — a rapid turnaround reflecting the depth of her cultural standing in Israel. She is best known internationally for "Jerusalem of Gold," written weeks before the Six-Day War in 1967 and performed by Shuli Natan at the Israel Song Festival in May of that year. When Israeli paratroopers reached the Western Wall days later, the song became inextricably bound to the moment, though Shemer herself later acknowledged borrowing the melody from a Basque lullaby recorded by Paco Ibáñez.