Samuel Cohen (composer)

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Samuel Cohen was an immigrant from Moldavia, best remembered for his arrangement of the Israeli National Anthem, Hatikvah. In 1882, while living in Rishon LeZion, Cohen put a poem by Naftali Herz Imber to music. While it is thought that Cohen based the melody on an old Moldavian-Romanian folk song, "Carul cu Boi" (Cart and Oxen), it has also been claimed that the tune is based on Bedřich Smetana's "Moldau", however, it is argued that both Cohen and Smetana composed the tune from same commonly used folk song. Cohen did not receive credit or a fee due to the lack of a copyright on the melody.