About the same time, winter of 1997, Ofra met Doron Ashkenazi, a divorced businessman, aged 38. Ashkenazi had a daughter who lived with his former wife, Etti Perry, and an adopted son aged 11 who lived with him. The devoted matchmakers were Shuli, Ofra’s sister, and Sari Diner, her friend from Los Angeles. Sari’s husband, Re’uven, knew Ashkenazi from their birth city, Rishon Le-Tziyon. The Diner couple immigrated from Rishon Le-Tziyon to Los Angeles years before. Shuli and Sari marketed their match to Ofra: a wealthy businessman and a good-hearted man.
“The son of one of Ofra’s friends was in the hospital”, said Shuli, “and Ofra went to visit him. Shortly before that she met with a rabbi who told her: ‘Something good will come out from the hospital, you’ll find the man of your life there’.
Ashkenazi was introduced to Ofra as a businessman whose business is worldwide, with a thriving building construction business in Israel. But that wasn’t the whole picture. It is a doubtful if Ofra knew, for instance, that one of his best friends was a senior member in an Israeli gang who dealt with fuel smuggling on a large scale in cooperation with the Italian Mafia, that another friend of his was accused in the murder of his friend, that Ashkenazi himself had a police record for threatening and bothering his former wife, and other details about his personal life before they met. The acquaintance between Ofra and Ashkenazi happened a short time after his divorce from Etti Perry.
Ashkenazi himself was a very persistent suitor. “Only one day after they met at the hospital he brought her a pack of chocolates he had at his house”, says Eyal Portman, Doron’s friend. “He wanted to take a note but he had illegible handwriting, so he said to me: ‘Eyal, come and write me a few words’”. “Something was written on every single chocolate: ‘I love you’, ‘I fell in love with you’, ‘you’re beautiful’, ‘you’re nice’”, says Shuli.
“I told him: ‘Doron, do me a favor, it’s useless, she’s the kind of woman who is being chased by princes”, says Portman. “And then he told me: ‘Eyal, I don’t know how long it will take, but she will be mine’”. For half a year he gave her presents, chocolates and flowers. “Every hour he sent flowers to her house”, said Shuli. “Phone calls, but not ordinary phone calls, phone calls with songs. She let me hear how he courted after her”.
Less than half a year after they met, Ofra accepted Doron’s proposal to marry him after an impassioned courtship, followed also by the persuasions of the matchmakers.
But in the background there were also bad signs. Ofra agreed to the marriage after some hesitation, and after family pressures were exerted. “At the beginning Ofra didn’t want Doron”, says a family relative, “but Shuli was the one who pushed her to marry him. There were times when Shuli came to Ofra in the late hours of the night, and tried to talk to her and convince her that it was time to get married”. All her sisters wanted her to be married. “They wanted to see her in the arms of a strong man, married and having children. All her great success was nothing compared to the fact she was almost at her forties and still single”, said one of Ofra’s friends. As years went by, the matchmaking efforts became stronger and the family pressures on her grew bigger.
“It was more than a family pressure”, adds the director Tzedi Tzarfati, a good friend of Ofra. “Everyone told her that she should get married. Everyone asked her why she didn’t marry and what about children, they pushed and pushed and in the end she fell in the arms of the first man who met her. Her sister drove her into this marriage. She was the one who gave her the last push”.
Short after their acquaintance, Ofra introduced Ashkenazi to Bezalel. He sat at the courtyard of the villa in Yahud, and there the introduction took place. Bezalel felt very uncomfortable about Ashkenazi’s appearance. It was hatred at first sight. “I got a very bad impression of him, it was the worst possible”, said Bezalal. Bezalel told Ofra how he felt. “I warned Ofra about Doron”, said Bezalel. “I had a very bad feeling. I told her: ‘Don’t get near him’. All the time I felt he was lying. He told me all kinds of stories. He said: ‘I have an apartment’. I asked him: ‘can I see the contract’? He looked unreliable to me”. “Bezalel was against the wedding” said a relative of his. “27 years he raised her, one can’t ignore such a long time; it’s like a father that has to marry off his daughter”. But all his efforts to convince Ofra to leave Ashkenazi, or at least to check thoroughly about his past, failed. He implored Ofra at least to ask Ashkenazi to do comprehensive medical tests as is acceptable in recent years. “I asked her to do all the tests. I told her: ‘At least you’ll know who you’re getting married to’. I say in full confidence, he was her first man. I mentioned this fact before him and not in secret. She promised me she’d do it”.
A month before the Hina [a ceremony traditionally celebrated a few days before the wedding] Ofra started to try some dresses in all kinds of styles. The fashion designer Galit Levi showed her all kinds of styles. Ofra counted on her and gave her free hand in creating the dress. Ofra didn’t rent it, but bought the dress for more than 1,000 NIS (New Israeli Shekels, which is about $250). She came to try it on twice. Every time she stayed for half an hour, on two different Saturday nights. The couple Eyal and Galit opened the shop especially for her. Ashkenazi came with Ofra the first time.
On July 12, 1997, on a Saturday night, the Hina ceremony of Ofra Haza and Doron Ashkenazi took place. The ceremony was celebrated at “Gan Hvradim” (“Roses Garden”) – between Rishon Le- Tziyon and Nes-Tziona. Thousands of guests came to the ceremony, among them dozens of artists and colleagues, who were welcomed by the future groom and bride with zeal and excitement. The former Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, and the Minister Avigdor Kahalani danced with the bride and groom. Peres congratulated Ofra and said that “We are here with mixed feelings because we wanted Ofra to belong to all of us forever”. Also among the guests were the new Finance Minister, Ya’acov Ne’eman, and Tel-Aviv Mayor, Roni Milo.
The hundreds of guests received a rich buffet, and music purely based on the Hebrew songs of Ofra. Also taking part in the ceremony were dancers from the Inbal Group and the Yemenite singer Tziyon Golan. Ofra wore a traditional outfit and a traditional colorful bonnet, and Ashkenazi was dressed with a golden robe. The two, very excited, were led by their mothers (Shoshana Haza from the side of the bride and Firchia Ashkenazi from the side of the groom) between two rows of singers from “Bo’i Teiman” (“Come Yemen”) band, to the ceremony.
Three days later, on Tuesday July 15, 1997, Ofra Haza was married to Doron Ashkenazi. The wedding took place on the roof of her parents’ house in Hatikva neighborhood. It was a small ceremony in the presence of dozens of relatives and friends. The street was blocked, a catering was posted on the sidewalk, and the happy couple arrived in a magnificent carriage. The bride was wearing a white wedding dress designed by Galit Levi and make-up by Nisso Cohen. Ashkenazi realized very soon that Bezalel was not sympathetic to him, and he induced Ofra to move to his penthouse in Rishon Letziyon, and from there to a private house in Hertzeliya. The house is surrounded by plantation and vegetation and there is a pool in the yard. The house was put at their disposal by a friend of Ashkenazi since childhood, the building contractor Ron Yitzchaki, who lives nearby. Ofra continued to keep her private life to herself, and most of the neighbors didn’t even know she moved nearby.
The change in her career wasn’t late in coming. Two relatives of Ofra said that the speed of Bezalel didn’t suit her anymore. She was busy with her new family, which included Ashkenazi’s son. Ashkenazi started to manage Ofra’s career by himself and he went with her for recordings in Germany and in the U.S.A. The flights abroad shortened gradually. Ofra said that they were trying to leave the country as little as possible, mainly because of the child. “She was trying very hard to be a husband’s wife, to cook and to tidy up, and to make phone calls and ask about all kinds of foods”, said Shuli. “She wanted so much to be perfect”. “She restrained him”, said Portman. “He stopped smoking gradually and started to keep the Sabbath”.
Shortly after the wedding, Bezalel found out he was losing his hold on Ofra. The conversations and connection between them gradually diminished, they took on fewer and fewer commitments together. Due to the influence of Ashkenazi, Ofra and Bezalel ended their business relationship together, and closed their joint businesses. Bezalel found it hard to accept Ofra’s abandonment. His friends told him: “Ofra is a one man’s woman, you have no room in her life anymore”. “Bezalel and I exhausted our connection at this stage, and every one went his own way”, said Ofra. “Since Ofra got married, I am out of the story”, said Bezalel. “She went after her husband and the story is over”.
Among her friends in show business there were some who didn’t sympathize with the marriage. “Doron is a very dominant man who controlled Ofra”, said a show business acquaintance. “He objected to the relationship between her and Bezalel Aloni, and one may say he actually kicked him out”. Meanwhile, Bezalel adopted two new ‘discoveries’, Gabriela Louise and Gadi Fadid, and tried to give an air of business as usual. Both Ofra and Bezalel tried to keep their departure a secret.
Their last project together was the participation of Ofra in the theme song, “Deliver Us”, in the movie “Prince of Egypt”. She also provided the vocal decorations for a few of the scenes: when Moses leaves Egypt, when he finds out he’s Hebrew, and when he goes into seclusion in the desert. Ofra also served as as an inspiration to the character of Yocheved: the animation artists used her portrait to mold the character of Moses’ mother. She recorded the song in 17 languages. At first she recorded the English version in Los Angles. Afterwards, when it was decided that the theme song will be the only thing without a local translation, texts in all other languages were sent to her in Israel. “The way I sing, they couldn’t find anyone to replace me”, said Ofra. “They considered it to be very very special”. Ofra had private tutors who taught her all the languages and how to express and pronounce the words correctly: “They weren’t satisfied with the local tutors, so they brought musicians especially from the countries of origin, so as not to make the slightest mistake. It was really amazing. I wrote my texts phonetically, with my own signs, and when I was ready, we came to London”.
Ofra was among the only ones who saw the unfinished version of the film. She watched the film in a private screening in London when she came to record the theme song. The recordings took place in “Abbey Road” studios over a time period of two weeks: “There was a great excitement there. They flew the whole band from Hollywood, about 100-120 players. They weren’t satisfied with the playback. All the time they changed and renewed”. Ofra’s singing and the fact she was singing in all languages became known in the press all over the world. The film was a big hit, mainly in the U.S.A., and made Ofra even more famous than what she had been. It created a great momentum for the continuation of her success abroad. Bezalel wanted to go on with the recordings and performance tour but Ofra refused. She also recorded seven songs to the English movie “The Governess” and got many headlines about these two projects.
In May 1998 Israel was having its jubilee celebrations for its establishment. The central event was the “Pa’amoney Hayovel” (“Jubilee Bells”), a central stage on which the best Israeli artists performed. Among the artists was Ofra, who sang “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” (“Jerusalem of Gold”) together with “Im Nin’alu” and “Kirya”, and held the spotlight for eight minutes of the whole show. Dozens of dancers danced around her and a set of a big model of Jerusalem city. Ofra was supposed to sing the national hymn “Hatikva” (“The Hope”), but she especially asked to sing “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” (“Jerusalem of Gold”). Rita sang the hymn and Ofra got “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” (“Jerusalem of Gold”).
In 1999 Ofra participated also in the Hebrew soundtrack of the animated version for the unforgettable musical of Rogers and Hammerstein, “The King and I”. In the movie Ofra sang five songs of Anna, a teacher from England, who arrived at 1863 to Siam to teach the children of Siam’s king. Anna discovered that before her stands a stubborn king who adhered to anachronistic values, such as feeling he must find a decent bride for his son the prince, although the son is secretly in love with a beautiful female slave. Despite everything, Anna falls for the charms of the king and his children and despite everything, Anna falls for the charms of the king and his children and finds herself helping the prince to make his forbidden love come true.
Shyke Levi from ‘Hagashash Hachiver’ (‘The Pale Pathfinder’ – an Israeli entertainment group) also takes part in the soundtrack in the role of the king of Siam. The song at the end of the movie is sung by Barbara Streisand.
At the fall of 1999 Ofra decided to record a new international album with words and music she wrote by herself. The album wasn’t recorded in a big studio, but in the house of Ron Aviv, aged 22, from Petach-Tikva. Aviv was previously with “Zevet Haway Habakum” (a military band) where he served as an organ player with other young singers like Inbar Algov, the niece of Ofra, who introduced them to one another. “Ofra told me she wanted to record an album of her own, that she had words and ideas, and she was looking for somebody to work it out with her”, says Aviv about their first meeting. “It was clear to me that she was looking for an isolated place where she could work in secrecy. In one of the weekends of August 1999 I went to her house in Hertzeliya. We talked and I recommended that she record at the studio in my house, so I won’t have to go every time to Hertzeliya with all the equipment”. Ofra agreed, and two days later she came to his home studio in Petach-Tikva.
In the small room of Aviv on the fourth floor of the building she wrote and composed new songs. “She was at her best”, says Aviv about the work period with Ofra. “She disassembles songs and looks for new directions. Everything predictable is tossed out. It was very far from the definition she had been given as a middle of the road singer. She was happy, very charismatic, full of life. She had many plans for the future. She always knew what she wanted”.
The songs’ words in the new album are taken mostly from the world of vows, prayers and testaments. Chamutal Ben-Ze’ev, an Israeli songwriter, assisted in writing. “She would call me and ask for help completing words in different sentences and for help in rhyming”. “Most help was done by telephone”, says Aviv. Ofra reached Aviv’s studio with abstract ideas for melody and texts, and together they made songs out of it, which were dedicated to Ofra’s friends, her family and her husband Ashkenazi. “She was very professional”, says Aviv. “She didn’t do any rehearsals nor any practice. She just came into the studio and started singing”. Ofra was looking for a new musical direction, and decided to shake herself off the hit pop genre and get closer to the ethnic rooted genre.
In December of that year, after 3.5 months of recordings, Ofra flew together with Ashkenazi to London, where she played the new stuff she had created in Ron’s home studio to the British producers Roger Armstrong and Ben Mendelssohn. The two sat and listened on their headphones to her music. Ofra was tense. Their reaction was warm and encouraging. They were both convinced Ofra found her special niche.
Ofra’s new material made the British so enthused that a few of the record companies, like “Universal” and “EMA”, wanted her to sign a contract for a new CD. “I felt she was doing me an audition and not the other way around”, said Gerald Seligman, the head of the world music department in “EMA”. The company already started to negotiate with Ofra about a new tour and other CDs with symphonic compositions. “She was thrilled”, said Seligman, who departed from her with a warm kiss at the end of their meeting in London. The next meeting was supposed to take place in London a few weeks after, at the beginning of 2000.
When Ofra returned to Israel, she scheduled with Aviv more meetings for their collaborated work. “And then every time we set a date I got a telephone call from her or from Ashkenazi saying that she had the flu that will pass away in a day or two”, says Aviv.
In January 2000 Ofra became ill. She was lying in her bedroom in Hertzeliya not able to move. She suffered from weakness, threw up very often and lost weight rapidly. The only ones who were let near her bed were Ashkenazi, her sisters, and Dr. Mimi-Hartman Perry, a gynecologist and a very close friend of Ofra. It was said to Ofra’s sisters that she had the flu and that she would quickly come out of it. In the following days her condition deteriorated quickly. Shuli didn’t know what Ofra had, but she saw Ofra getting weaker and weaker, emaciated and dying in front of her eyes. “Let’s take her to a hospital, she’s dying in our hands”, said Shuli. Dr. Perry calmed her down and told her everything will be fine.
On Saturday evening on February 12th, Ofra’s sister, Noga Meshulam, came to the house. Noga, a professional nurse with 25 years of experience, took one glance at Ofra lying in bed and knew something had to be done immediately. Ofra already weighed less than 30 Kg. Noga called for an ambulance which came in a few minutes. Ofra was taken to “Shiba” hospital in Tel-Hashomer. She couldn’t walk, but she could still speak. She was placed in respiratory intensive care.
At that stage the press didn’t know a thing. Only at Sunday midnight was an announcement publicized in the press: “The singer Ofra Haza was hospitalized in ‘Shiba’ hospital in Tel-Hashomer in a bad condition”. That was all that was said. As the announcement came out, dozens of Ofra’s fans came to the hospital, but no one was permitted to come in and see her.
During the time of her hospitalization, many artists and fans came to visit her. Others sent flowers and recovery blessings to the hospital. Fans from Israel and overseas feared for her well-being. Gilat Ankory (an Israeli actress) came to the hospital and left with eyes red with tears. Following her came the entertainer Dudu Dotan and the singer Yig’al Bashan. Other artists who came to visit her were Nissim Garame (an Israeli singer), Dudu Topaz (an Israeli entertainer), Chophni Cohen (an Israeli singer) and many others. Bezalel said he got hundreds of phone calls from all over the world from people interested in Ofra’s well being. While interviewed on Israeli television, Bezalel started crying, and said Ofra will now need all the prayers of the people of Israel to get out of it. After she was hospitalized, Ofra’s condition was stabilized. All that time Ofra’s sisters were sitting together with hundreds of fans who arrived, and all of them together prayed and read Psalms for her recovery. After a few days of hospitalization Ofra was anaesthetized, to enable the continuation of her medical care.
Rabbi Ifargan (a Rabbi who was reputed to have supernatural powers of healing) also arrived at the hospital at the family’s request, and sat by Ofra’s bed for two hours. During his stay he gave her the name “Haya Ofra” (Haya in Hebrew means “lives”), as a quality for longevity. The hospital suppressed the news about Ofra’s condition, claiming they were “protecting Ofra’s and her family’s privacy, who requested not to be exposed”. Ofra’s family hired two security men who stood by her room, not to let anyone come near her. Because all news was suppressed, rumors started to spread about Ofra’s condition and the circumstances of her hospitalization. Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and the minister for Regional Development, Shimon Peres, called the hospital and asked about Ofra’s condition. All the electronic media and press were broadly covering hospitalization and started to broadcast live from the hospital. Ofra’s condition was on all the front pages of all the newspapers. It was also reported extensively abroad.
On the third day of her hospitalization Ofra’s family and the hospital came out with a joint announcement about her condition. The announcement was: “Ofra is hospitalized in the respiratory intensive care unit and her medical condition is serious. She is anaesthetized for the need of medical treatment, connected to a life support system, and given medicine through an IV and a dialysis treatment”. The announcement was delivered by Dr. Ze’ev Rothstein, the deputy hospital director, who added at the end of the formal announcement: “We all love Ofra and have our fingers crossed for her. All the medical staff is doing everything possible to bring her back to us”. A similar announcement was given to the press every day.
Nine days after she was hospitalized, Ofra’s condition became worse and there was a real danger to her life. The aggravated condition was caused mostly because of insulin problems in her body. Her condition was critical. But the doctors managed to stabilize her condition and it became better by noon. Ofra’s condition was defined serious but stable again. Ofra’s sister said: “It’s not true that Ofra doesn’t feel a thing. She opens her eyes from time to time and feels what is going on. In the morning Ashkenazi asked Ofra if she wanted her sister to read Psalms for her. Ofra, who believed in prayers very much, squeezed his hand in response. We’re keeping our fingers crossed and we are praying for her”. On February 23rd, 2000, during the afternoon, Ofra’s condition was seriously aggravated. The doctors tried to stabilize her condition but it was clearly critical. At that point it was clear to the doctors that the struggle for Ofra’s life was being overwhelmed. The family was called in to see Ofra for the last time. Ofra’s husband, brothers and sisters entered the room and said goodbye for the last time. Afterward they stood by her bed and prayed for her sake.
At 19:40 Ofra Haza passed away. Her family stayed near her for many long minutes, refusing to depart from their beloved. The family asked the hospital to delay the announcement of her death until they can notify the parents, and the elder sister, Noga, went out of the hospital and rushed to the parents’ house in Hatikva neighborhood. Only an hour and a half later, the media channels in Israel broke out with special news editions, and the public was told the bad news. The deputy hospital director of Shiba hospital, Dr. Ze’ev Rothstein, came out with the announcement of her death.
“Ofra has been struggling for her life for 13 days”, said the announcement. “She was hospitalized in the respiratory intensive care unit at the hospital, at Saturday evening last week, in a serious condition. Shortly after, all her essential body systems collapsed. She was anaesthetized and went through intensive medical treatment, which included connecting to a life support system and giving medicines through her IV, as well as given a dialysis treatment for all the period of her hospitalization. With the help of the progressive treatment, Ofra was kept alive as her condition changed alternately from despair to hope. Unfortunately, in the last hours a liver dysfunction was observed and also her coagulation system was damaged. In her blood there were signs of mycotic infection, and despite the treatments, Ofra’s heart stopped beating at 19:40. Our true condolences to the grieving family, may her memory be blessed”.
“She is gone, how could God leave her?”, cried one of the fans, throwing the book of psalms on the floor. “She didn’t leave us. As far as I’m concerned, she’ll stay here forever. She was everyone’s angel and now she will be an angel in the sky”, said another fan.
All Israel grieved Ofra’s death. Hatikva neighborhood, where Ofra grewup and where her parents lived, also cried incessantly. “We are sad to hear about Ofra’s death because she was the pride of the neighborhood, young, beautiful, talented, good hearted. She brought us so much dignity, overseas and here in Israel. The flower has gone from the neighborhood, the most beautiful flower”. After the announcement about her death, many radio stations and cable music channels in Germany started to broadcast songs of Ofra and interviews with her. The song “Im Nin’alu” was played dozens of times that night and the following days on all the music stations.
A day after her death her coffin was placed in Dahl Center in Hatikva neighborhood. Thousands of people came to the neighborhood to pay her last respects. In early morning there big announcement posters about her death were hung all over the neighborhood: “The people of Hatikva neighborhood are bowing their heads over the untimely death of the princess of Hebrew singing”. The crowd passed quietly, eyes full of tears, before the coffin and from time to time somebody burst out crying. Men with caps on their heads, women with baby carriages, children, young girls, old ladies with kerchiefs, old people pacing slowly while leaning on their walking sticks – everyone came to pay Ofra their last respects. Passing by the coffin, which was covered by the Israeli flag, they stopped and sent it a kiss. “The legend is gone, the pride of the neighborhood, a flower which was plucked still in its prime”, said someone from the neighborhood.
People came from all over the country to visit Ofra for the last time, from Metula to Be’er- Sheva and Eilat. Artists and many politicians also came to pay Ofra last respects. Prime Minister Ehud Barak also came to Hatikva neighborhood.
At the end of the ceremony the coffin was moved and many in the crowd burst out crying. A few of those who didn’t manage to get near the coffin broke through the fences and tried to reach the entrance of the auditorium, to tell Ofra goodbye for the last time.
Ofra’s coffin was taken to Yarkon cemetery. Thousands of people had been waiting there since early noon hours. Everybody came out of great love for Ofra, to pay her their last respects. By the coffin, her two nieces, Aya and Dorin, eulogized:
“Our dear Ofra, suddenly you left us and left your mother and father in great shock, husband, sisters, family, relatives and orphaned fans. This time the devoted medical care of the doctors, the psalms books didn’t help, you slipped through our fingers. For us you were and you are still the noble minded and humble sister and daughter, whose talent didn’t make you lose your mind even when you were titled a ‘queen’. You were cut off in your prime suddenly, and today you are joined together with the angels’ choir, which is standing still near the gates of heaven. Your life singing was cut off in a sudden brutality. Your passing away has no consolation. You were and still are an enigma. The albums, movies, clips, interviews and performances among simpletons and men of importance are a living memorial, breathing and eternal to an honest and righteous woman and a singer. Goodbye our princess”.
Much love and sadness were infused together around Ofra’s grave. Throats choking from crying were screaming and begging: “Ofra, don’t go”. Thousands of people blocked the fresh tomb with their bodies, pushing and obtruding, trying to touch the clods of earth covering their beloved singer, the nightingale of the neighborhood. The police who were trying to make order and who shouted into the microphones didn’t help much. Only a little girl from the Haza family asked, in a children’s innocence, if the earth and mounds of wreaths on her grave wouldn’t choke Ofra’s voice. No one dared answer.
