Sarit Hadad

Biography

Sarit Hadad (born Sara Chudadatov in 1978 in Afula, to a family from the Caucasus) is one of the best-selling and most beloved singers in Israel.

She started playing keyboards and darbuka as a child in her father's band, and broke through in the mid-1990s with a voice that could move between Mizrahi ornamentation, pop and rock.

Widely called 'the Queen of Mizrahi music', she represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002 with 'Light a Candle', performed weeks after a terror attack in Israel.

'Hayiti BeGan Eden' (1999) was written for her by Ehud Manor — the lyricist behind hundreds of Israeli standards — and became one of the songs that carried Mizrahi music into the Israeli mainstream.

For decades she kept her private life out of the press. In 2023 she came out publicly and spoke openly about her partner and their family — a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ visibility in Israel, especially in the traditional communities where Mizrahi music lives.

Quick facts

Born

Afula, 1978 — family from the Caucasus

Known as

The Queen of Mizrahi music

Eurovision

Represented Israel in 2002 ('Light a Candle')

Came out

Publicly in 2023 — a milestone in Mizrahi pop

This song

Lyrics by Ehud Manor, music by Shimon Buskila

Songs by Sarit Hadad with Hebrew lyrics

• Hayiti BeGan EdenI Was in the Garden of Eden · 1999

Culture quiz: Sarit Hadad & Israel

Test what you know about Sarit Hadad, the song's Hebrew words and Israeli culture.