"Peio Joxepe" is a traditional Navarrese song. It is very popular in the Basque Country, as its music is used by bertsolariak to improvise their compositions. Therefore, it may be sung with different lyrics.
In 2005, "Pello Joxepe" became known worldwide, when it was published that the melody of the Israeli song "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold") was partially inspired by its melody. The Spanish singer Paco Ibáñez offered a concert in Israel in 1962, where the famous Israeli song writer and singer Naomi Shemer could hear the lullaby.
Shemer had consistently denied the two songs had any connection, until a deathbed confession in June 2004. Stricken with cancer — which she felt might have been caused by her deception — she confessed to fellow composer Gil Aldema that she had, in fact, heard "Pello Joxepe" prior to writing "Jerusalem of Gold". She instructed Aldema to make an announcement after her death.
After the capture of Eastern Jerusalem by Israel in 1967, "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" became the symbol for the united city.
"Pello Joxepe" is seen by some as an example of anticlericalism.