Yehuda Poliker

With his powerful vocals and dynamic stage persona, Yehuda Poliker has been a major influence on the rock music of Israel since the mid-'80s. As lead singer for Benzin, Poliker helped to usher in a new era of Israeli contemporary music. Together with former-Benzin lyricist Ya'ackov Gilad, Poliker has continued to make his presence felt as a soloist. Poliker and Gilad share a family heritage as children of Holocaust survivors. Gilad's mother, the renowned writer and poet, Helena, avoided being exterminated in a gas chamber by a late minute reprieve. Poliker's father, Zoko, was sent to a concentration camp and separated from his first wife and son. Their tale was told in the 1988 film, Due to That War. In a late-'90s interview, Poliker said, "I am the only survivor out of my family of 50 people." ~ Craig Harris