Rabbi Tzion Yakar died recently in Albuquerque, N.M.

Tzion Yakar was born as Jamil Yaka in Khanaqin, Iraq, in 1943. His family had a successful trading and jewelry business there. At the age of seven, with the rest of the Jewish community, he and his family came to Israel where they resettled in the ma’abarot (tent cities). Jamil was the youngest of four children.

Upon settlement in Israel, he was given the name Tzion Yakar. At the age of 21, he and his wife moved to Milan, Italy, where he attended the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music. After graduating, he returned to Israel and sang in the opera (among other roles, he played Sasha, with Chaim Topol playing Tevye, on stage in Tel Aviv). He was active in the Israeli musical scene, including making a record.

As his family grew and he

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