"Jerusalem of Gold" (, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav) is an Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer. Often contrasted with the official anthem Hatikva, the original song described the Jewish people's 2,000-year longing to return to Jerusalem. Shemer added a final verse after the Six-Day War to celebrate Jerusalem's re-unification. History Naomi Shemer wrote the original song for the Israeli Song Festival (it was not in competition but had been commissioned by the Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek), held on 15 May 1967, the night after Israel's nineteenth Independence Day. She chose the then-unknown Shuli Nathan to sing the song. The melody is largely based on a Basque lullaby, Pello Joxepe (Pello or 'Peyo' is a typical Basque name), composed by Juan Francisco Petriarena 'Xenpelar' (1835–1869). Shemer heard a rendition by singer/songwriter Paco Ibáñez, who visited Israel in 1962 and performed the song to a group that included Shemer and Nehama Hendel. She later acknowledged hearing Hendel perform Pello Joxepe in the mid-1960s, and that she had unconsciously based some of the melody on the lullaby. Shemer felt very bad about the similararity of her song to Pello Joxepe, but when Ibáñez was asked how he felt about the issue, he replied he was "glad it helped in some way", and that he was not angry, nor did he perceive it as plagiarism. At that time, the Old City was still controlled by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and under its occupying rule. Jews had been banned from the Old City and the rest of East Jerusalem, losing their homes and possessions and becoming refugees. All Jews were barred from either returning or entering the areas under Jordanian control, and many holy sites were desecrated and damaged during that period. Only three weeks after the song was published, the Six-Day War broke out, and the song became a morale-boosting battle anthem of the Israel Defense Forces. Shemer herself sang it for the troops before the war and the festival, making them among the first in the world to hear it. On 7 June 1967, the IDF took eastern Jerusalem and the Old City from the Jordanians. Shemer was about to perform for a troop of paratroopers (who were not engaged in combat at the moment) when she heard that the Western Wall and Temple Mount were “in our hands” (the Israeli army). Instead of simply announcing this to the troop, she quickly