Thousands of mourners from across the country, including many of Israel's best-known singers and actors, came to Tel Aviv's Rabin Square with flowers and memorial candles on Wednesday to pay their last respects to Israeli music icon Arik Einstein, who died Tuesday night at age 74. The legendary singer's coffin was on display in the square until the funeral service in Tel Aviv's Trumpeldor Cemetery on Wednesday afternoon. "You lived in a world of goodness. You didn't understand the bad, you couldn't understand the bad," said Rabbi Uri Zohar, a close friend and former co-star whose daughter married Einstein's son. The funeral was attended by Israeli entertainment greats including Shlomo "Moni" Moshonov, Shalom Hanoch, Shlomo Artzi, Matti Caspi, Yoni Rechter and Tzvi Shiesel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also went to Rabin Square and eulogized the singer. "We all grew up on your songs, we laughed to tears from your sketches, we were moved by your films. In a nation of great artists, great singers, it's not a simple thing to say this, but it's true -- you were greater than all of them," Netanyahu told the crowd. "You were a wonderful artist, and just as much, you were a wonderful man. Your creations are a part of the Israeli nation's culture in its land, and your creations will continue to live on with us." Hanoch performed Einstein's song "Children of Life" for the crowd, audibly choking back tears as mourners lined up to place flowers, mostly red, the color of Einstein's favorite soccer team Hapoel Tel Aviv, on the casket. Actor Israel Gurion reminisced about his friend and colleague: "I prayed and hoped that he would pull through, but it didn't happen. A huge loss. He was a great artist, a great singer, a great friend. He was an unbelievably funny man, as a singer, he was a giant. He was our Frank Sinatra." Einstein died of an aortic aneurysm at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Doctors tried to save his life with emergency surgery. "You give everything for the patient. It doesn't matter who it is. In this case we knew, appreciated and admired him, and it also has public resonance. Unfortunately, we failed. That burden will stay with us," said Dr. Yanai Ben-Gal, director of the hospital's cardiothoracic surgery department. Einstein was a youth high-jump champion and had not planned to be a musician, but after joining the army's Nahal band at his father's urging, found his career taking off. He sang in popular groups and starred in cult movies, including the classic "Metzizim" ("Peeping Toms"). Einstein also launched a solo career that featured numerous collaborations with Israeli musicians, quickly earning him his place as the most recognizable voice in Israel. Summing up national feelings toward the singer, Netanyahu said Wednesday, "Arik, love is what we feel for you. Thank you, Arik Einstein, thank you for the wealth of happiness and feeling with which you enriched our lives."
