The Witches

The Witches (Hebrew: המכשפות, transliterated as HaMechashefot) are an all female Israeli rock band formed in 1992 by guitarist, lead singer and songwriter Inbal Perlmuter, bassist and vocalist Yifat Netz and drummer/vocalist Yael Cohen. The band gained public attention in a TV appearance on a program called “Songs of the Sea of Galilee”, hosted by Naomi Shemer. They performed a post-punk version of Shemer's song "Magic on the Sea of Galilee”, which became their first single. Their 1994 debut album, Anticipating Another Rapture, was produced by Corinne Allal and is a certified gold record in Israel. Their second album, Weird Times, was released in 1995. The Witches opened for Björk on the subsequent tour. In October, 1997, as the band prepared to launch a new tour, Inbal Perlmuter was killed in an automobile accident. A final release, a two CD set called The Best Of (1999), included a one disc compilation drawn from the three previous albums and a previously unreleased live album.

In 2012 the two surviving members relaunched the band. The lineup since 2013 includes Netz, Cohen, lead singer Yanni Chen and guitarist Keren Brenner. They also have recorded a new studio album (as yet unreleased) produced by Corinne Allal and remain active in Israel.