Hatikvah is Our National Anthem - by Sheri Oz

...If every country has the right to select its own anthem and vote the anthem into law as is customary to do, then Israel has that same inalienable right. Jews have the right to sing out about our nationalistic pride without that reflecting badly on our democracy. And each and every non-Jewish citizen of this land has the right to decide how to position himself or herself among us.

Sheri Oz..
Israel Diaries..
21 July '18..

There are some Israelis – Jews and Arabs alike – who over the years have argued that Hatikva is abhorrent to our non-Jewish citizens and should be changed. It is (bad) enough we are a Jewish country, they seem to imply; no need to add insult to injury by vocally and emotionally proclaiming our eons-long Jewish dream to be free in our own land. Where does that leave the Arabs and other non-Jews? How can we resolve that tension between being a Jewish country (and trying to be proud of that) and still be democratic and not discriminate against our non-Jewish citizens?

Well, too late! It is now fixed in law. Hatikva is our national anthem.

In any case, in a separate article, I discussed the issue: I argued that as sovereigns in our own indigenous homeland, we are free to write our future according to our values. If our values are Jewish supremacist, then that is the way the country will grow, but if our values are moral and inclusive, that means that all our citizens, Jews and non-Jews, will continue to have equal rights to pursue their individual and family goals (but not national goals that would undermine the nation of Israel).

For those who contend that non-Jews cannot stand up and sing Hatikva, let me present you with one Druze man’s feelings about HaTikva:

(Continue to Full Post)

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

.