Author of postcard sent to Naomi Shemer praising 'Jerusalem of Gold' identified after 59 years

A mystery preserved for nearly six decades was solved when Aharon Bar-Oz’s daughter recognized her father’s handwriting on a postcard displayed at the National Library of Israel.

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Well done! And well done again

Bar-Oz, now 89, sent the postcard to songwriter Naomi Shemer during the Six-Day War in 1967. He praised “Jerusalem of Gold,” which had become popular among soldiers. Shemer had written the song’s famous fourth verse after hearing that Israeli forces had recaptured Jerusalem’s Old City.

“Well done! And well done again,” Bar-Oz wrote on behalf of a reconnaissance unit in northern Israel. “Your song Yerushalayim Shel Zahav has become part of our life in the outposts.” He added that soldiers continued singing it while the country was fighting.

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Your song Yerushalayim Shel Zahav has become part of our life in the outposts.

Shemer saved the postcard and replied nine days later, after the war ended. “I'm glad that you and the entire unit can now be congratulated on your victory,” she wrote. “And it's nice to hear that I could help you from afar, at least by way of the song.”

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I'm glad that you and the entire unit can now be congratulated on your victory

Bar-Oz kept her response framed on the wall of his home. In mid-August, he donated the letter to the National Library, bringing the two pieces of wartime history together. He recalled writing the postcard without a table or chair, using another soldier’s back as a writing surface. “Now the time has come for it to be at the National Library,” Bar-Oz said, adding that it should be preserved there for future generations.

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Now the time has come for it to be at the National Library