Ahuva Ozeri

Ahuva Ozeri (born March 30, 1948, Tel Aviv, Israel - died December 13, 2016, Tel HaShomer, Ramat Gan, Israel) was an Israeli singer-songwriter and player of the bulbul-tarang (or Indian banjo). She was from a Yemenite Jewish family and has been referred to as "the founding mother of Mizrahi music" by the Israeli daily Ha'aretz and "the great priestess of oriental music" by the BBC. In 2005, cancer forced the removal of her vocal chords. Beginning with her 2013 album, Me'alay D'mama (Silence Above Me) she continued to write the words and lyrics for her songs and played on the album, but was forced to largely leave the singing to others, including some of the most prominent names in Israeli music. Using a specially shaped metal plate pressed to her throat she still managed to sing on two tracks.