Hava Nagila (, Hāvā Nāgīlā, "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora. History Hava Nagila is one of the first modern Jewish folk songs in the Hebrew language. It went on to become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and bar/bat(b'nei) mitzvah celebrations. The melody is based on a Hassidic Nigun. It was composed in 1918, to celebrate the Balfour Declaration and the British victory over the Ottomans in 1917. It was first performed in a mixed choir concert in Jerusalem. Abraham Zevi Idelsohn (1882–1938), a professor at Hebrew University, began cataloging all known Jewish music and teaching classes in musical composition; one of his students was a promising cantorial student, Moshe Nathanson, who with the rest of his class was presented by the professor with a 19th-century, slow, melodious, chant (niggun or nigun) and assigned to add rhythm and words to fashion a modern Hebrew song. There are competing claims regarding Hava Nagila's composer, with both Idelsohn and Nathanson being suggested. The niggun has been attributed to the Sadigurer Chasidim, who lived in what is now Ukraine. This version has been recreated by Daniel Gil. The text was probably refined by Idelsohn. Members of the community began to immigrate to Jerusalem in 1915, and Idelsohn wrote in 1932 that he had been inspired by that melody. Lyrics Notable performers Singer Harry Belafonte is known for his version of the song, which was recorded for his album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall in 1959. He rarely gave a concert without singing it, and stated that the two “stand out” songs from his professional career were “The Banana Boat Song,” and “Hava Nagila”. Belafonte noted and claimed, "Life is not worthwhile without it. Most Jews in America learned that song from me." Dalida (1959) Brave Combo Glen Campbell Chubby Checker Carmela Corren - Israeli singer Celia Cruz Dick Dale and the Del Tones (surf rock) Neil Diamond, in addition to having performed Hava Nagila in his 1994 Live In America concert, incorporated it into The Jazz Singer, based on Samson Raphaelson's play, in which he acted out a cantor with popular-music ambitions. Dream Theater performed a cover of "Hava Nagila" in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 16, 2009. Bob Dylan The E Street Band with guest accordionists performed it at