Meir Banai

Meir Banai was born in 1960 in Jerusalem

Meir Banai was born in Jerusalem in 1960 to Simcha and Judge Yitzhak Banai. His parents moved to the south when he was young, and he grew up in Omer and attended high school in Beersheba. His siblings include Orna, Eviatar and Efrat, and his family has produced several actors and singers.

He played and wrote songs from age 17. He was accepted to a military band, but the bands were canceled, and he served as a combat soldier in the Armored Corps.

After his release in 1981 he appeared on the TV show Ze HaZman. In 1982 he released a self-funded single, and his first album came out in 1984. He acted in the films Shovrim, Nadia and Ruthie Naim, and his 1987 album Rain went gold with 20,000 copies sold.

In 1999 he recorded with Arkadi Duchin, and he made his U.S. debut in New York in 2004. His 2007 album Shma Koli set traditional Jewish texts and prayers to modern arrangements. In 2008 he won the Landau Award for Stage Arts.

Banai died of esophageal cancer on 12 January 2017.