Salt of the earth

Songwriter, singer and performer Uzi Chitman,52, died this week from a heart attack. No one outside Israel will ever have heard his name, but they might know some of the songs he wrote -- 'Noladeti LaShalom,' for example, and 'Kan' (sung by Orna and Moshe Datz in the Eurovision). In any case, an entire generation of Israeli kids, including me, grew up on children's shows he starred in, including Parpar Nechmad and Hopa Hey! To me, this gentle, amiable, idealistic man, who didn't seem to move without his guitar, represents an Israel which doesn't really exist any more. YZB.