Singing In 1957, Yehoram Gaon enlisted in the
Israel Defense Forces, where he joined
Lehakat HaNahal, marking the beginning of his career in the performing arts. Gaon was a member of the singing group
HaTarnegolim ("The Roosters"), founded by
Naomi Polani, from its establishment in 1960 until its disbandment in 1963. He subsequently helped form the
Yarkon Bridge Trio, which he left in 1965. In 1969, he performed
Ballad for the Medic, a song written by
Dan Almagor and composed by Effi Netzer, at the
Israel Song Festival, where he won first place and also took second place with another song written by Yoram Taharlev.
Ballad for the Medic has remained controversial in Israel and is generally played only on
Yom HaZikaron, at Netzer’s request. Gaon became widely recognized for his rendition of
Naomi Shemer’s
Od Lo Ahavti Dai ("I Haven’t Loved Enough Yet"), which also served as the title track of his 1977 album featuring songs with themes of
nature. In 1994, he performed at the
Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring
Yitzhak Rabin,
Shimon Peres, and
Yasser Arafat in
Oslo.
Acting As an actor, Gaon appeared with the
Cameri Theatre of
Tel Aviv-Jaffa in productions including
Chips with Everything,
Vitzek, and
Kinneret Kinneret by
Nathan Alterman. In the early 1960s, he studied acting at the
Herbert Berghof Studio in
New York City under
Uta Hagen and later graduated with honors from the RCA Institute for TV Production. In 1977, Gaon portrayed
Yonatan Netanyahu in the film
Operation Thunderbolt. He has appeared in other films including
Siege,
Every Bastard a King,
The Eagles Attack at Dawn,
Joker,
The Lover, and
No-Way Street.'' Gaon has acted in several television series, including
Krovim Krovim (1983-1986), the first Israeli sitcom, and
Mossad 101.
Hosting Gaon hosted the television program
Shishi BeGaon ("Friday with Gaon") on
Channel One and later a weekend talk show on
Channel 2. Since 1997, he has hosted a weekly radio program,
Gaon on the Radio (גאון ברדיו), on Kan Network Bet of the
Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, where he discusses and comments on current events. Gaon also served as moderator for the
Israel Broadcasting Authority documentary series
T’kuma, produced for Israel’s 50th anniversary in 1998. He resigned from the project, citing disagreement with what he described as "overly biased pro-
Arab views" of historical events and depictions of individuals involved in attacks against Israelis in the 1970s. in 2017. In the background is an
Israeli artwork made of basalt ash. ==Political and civic career==