Asher Mizrahi

• Name — Asher Mizrahi • Native Name — אשר מזרחי • Born — 1890 • Birthplace — Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire • Died — 27 October 1967 • Place of death — Jerusalem, Israel • Occupation — Singer, musician • Illustration — Asher Mizrahi, later in life, in traditional Mizrahi Jewish dress

As a young man, Mizrahi left his home in Jerusalem in what was then part of the Ottoman Empire. He initially went to Malta, then to Tunisia in 1911. From 1919 to 1929 he returned to the former British Mandatory Palestine, and returned to Tunis to live there for almost forty years. In the late 1940s, he ended his active career. He left Tunisia after the Six-Day War in 1967, and finally settled in Israel. He died three months after moving to Israel.

Habibi Yah Habibi, also spelled Havivi Ya Havivi, is a Mizrahi zemer hymn, composed by Rahamim Omar. The zemer has gained especial popularity among Mizrahi Jews, and is traditionally sung at religious occasions. In particular, it is sung during three pilgrimage festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, Succot) due to the closing line "וְאָז יֵרָאֶה כָּל זְכוּרֶךָ שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים בַּשָּׁנָה" ("Then all your males shall make pilgrimage three times each year", a paraphrase of a biblical quotation). The French translation is similar ("Alors, tous les hommes Te visiteront, trois fois par an."). The shorter, secular version omits the reference to pilgrimage, ending with a return to Zion