Zaharira Harifai

Zaharira Harifai was born in 1929 in Tel Aviv

Harifai was born and grew up in Tel Aviv. Her father, Haim Leib Harifai, was a teacher, journalist and cultural activist who came from Russia in 1922. He died of pneumonia in 1934, and her mother, Hannah Dvora, worked in a kindergarten kitchen.

She went to high school at the Mikveh Israel agricultural school, where she stood out in swimming. After school she trained at Gvat with the Palmach, and in the War of Independence she was a radio operator in the Golani Brigade. She then studied at the drama school of the Cameri Theatre.

She acted at the Cameri and the Haifa Theatre and sang with the Batzal Yarok troupe. After leaving the Cameri, she co-founded Zavit Theater and played Inez in No Exit in 1958. In 1967 she created a poetry evening and from then on focused on reading poetry.

In 1968 she returned to the Cameri, where she was known for roles in plays by Hanoch Levin. She acted in films such as Sallah Shabati and Jellyfish. She also directed plays and taught acting at Beit Zvi in Ramat Gan.

From 2003 to 2010 she acted at the Beit Lessin Theatre, and later at the Beersheba Theater and the Cameri. She died in 2013.