Naftali Herz Imber
Hebrew poet
wrote Tikvateinu
Naftali Herz Imber (1856-1909) was a Ukrainian-Jewish poet writing in Hebrew, who moved to Palestine in 1882. In 1886 he published a book of poetry which included the poem “Tikvateinu”, meaning “Our Hope”. The Chovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) adopted it as their anthem. Later the new State of Israel adopted it, with some changes, as the official national anthem called “Hatikvah.” He eventually moved to the United States, where he died impoverished, and in 1953 his remains were reburied in Jerusalem.