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:

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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. 

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Hatikva. Not your normal national anthem - by Forest Rain

...Zion and Jerusalem are the home of the Jewish soul but they are also the example, the proof that all people can find the home their soul yearns for. Possibly this is the secret of Israel, why she fascinates and why she gives so many, including non-Jews, the feeling that coming to Israel is coming home.

Forest Rain..
Inspiration from Zion..
August '16..

Israel doesn’t do things the way other nations do and our national anthem is no exception to that rule.

What other nation on earth has had a national anthem at a time when they did not have a State they could call home?

The original poem was called Tikvatenu (Our Hope), was revised over the years, including by Imber himself and eventually became the two stanza anthem, Hatikva (The Hope), sung today.The words of Israel’s national anthem were written as a nine-stanza poem by poet Naftali Hertz Imber and were first published in 1876 or 1877 (the exact date is unknown). It served as the anthem of the Zionist Movement at the 18th Zionist Congress in 1933.

Although Hatikva was firmly established in the public’s consciousness as Israel’s national anthem, it was not formally legislated as such until 57 years after the establishment of the state.

For other nations, the anthem is a tool to build and reinforce national consciousness. Their songs speak of pride, superiority, the glory of battle and/or upholding the reign of the ruler. The lyrics reinforce the cohesion of a people based on their similar traits, taking part in the same battles and living in the same land.

Here too Israel is different.

Hatikva mentions no battles, no fight against oppressors and no similar traits belonging to our nation.

The consciousness of Israel as a nation has existed for thousands of years. There is no need to “pump” ideas of brotherhood or belonging together, the “our” in the lyrics comes quietly, naturally, without fanfare.

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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. 

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Will a Jew Sing This Anthem? - by Sheri Oz

...sometime in the late 1980s to mid-1990s, the PLO adopted Fida’i as the “Palestinian” anthem. I am sure that you, like me, naturally assume that this new anthem speaks of love for the land, love for Jerusalem, the Palestinian soul’s longing for peace and equality.

Sheri Oz..
Israel Diaries..
First Published 22 May '16..

The Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians have a national anthem. Actually, their current anthem is supposedly their second. The lyrics of the first were written in 1934 by Ibrahim Tuqan and expressed opposition to the British presence in the Ottoman Empire. Named “Mawtini”, meaning “Homeland”, it talks about gaining independence from the British and overcoming the humiliation of occupation (by the British) and fear of takeover by the Jews.

While some claim that this was a “Palestinian” anthem, it was, in fact, popular throughout the Arab world and there is nothing to suggest that it was specifically “Palestinian” except for the “Palestinian” who wrote the lyrics (an Egyptian wrote the tune). In 2004, it was adopted by Iraq as their national anthem.

You can hear the uplifting music of Mawtini, here:



Then Came Fida’i

There is confusion about the exact date, but sometime in the late 1980s to mid-1990s, the PLO adopted Fida’i as the “Palestinian” anthem. I am sure that you, like me, naturally assume that this new anthem speaks of love for the land, love for Jerusalem, the Palestinian soul’s longing for peace and equality.

Yeh! Right!

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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. 

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Then came the surprising announcement: "There is no need to sing Israel's anthem."

It is first-class chutzpah to come to the heart of Tel Aviv and then ask us not to play our anthem. And it is even a greater audacity by the organizers and the people of the Peres Center that they lowered their heads and agreed to it.

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA..
07 August '13..






Ministry of Education: We will not pay for the visit of Barcelona because the anthem was not played

Yediot Ahronot: Education Minister Shai Piron agreed that his ministry would pay a million shekels to finance the visit of the Barcelona team in Israel, on one condition: Hatikva would be played at Bloomfield Stadium. But in order not to offend the Palestinian organizers it was decided to play only the Catalan anthem. Ministry official: "This is an outrage"

Tzvika Brut and Telem Yahav Posted YNET : 10:13 7 August 2013
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4414730,00.html
[IMRA translation]

The decision not to play the national anthem this week during the visit of the stars of the Barcelona team at Bloomfield stadium could cost the organizers dearly. The Ministry of Education announced that they do not
agree to pay their share of the event, as pledged in advance, because the organizers decided to forego the singing of Hatikva contrary to earlier agreements.

The visit of the stars of top Spanish Barcelona team in Israel and Bethlehem this week, which was attended by young people from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was organized by the Peres Center for Peace in coordination with the office of President Peres. During preparations the Ministry of Education was asked to fund the event on the Israeli side, and indeed, received approval from the Minister Shay Piron, provided Hatikva be played before the start of the training event of the team.

The organizers agreed and David D'or already prepared to sing Hatikva and the anthem of Catalonia, but then came the surprising announcement: "There is no need to sing Israel's anthem." At the Palestinian stadium the Palestinian anthem was sung but in Bloomfield, in the presence of thousands of Israeli students, it was decided play only the Catalan anthem in the end.

Why? Depends on who you ask.

(Video) Moran's creative solution - just sing it.

At the International Adaptive Regatta in Gavirate, Italy, Moran Samuel won the gold medal but when it came time, the organizers did not have Hatikva, the national anthem of Israel. Moran's creative solution - just sing it. While for the readers of Haaretz and The Forward, this may have little meaning (See Falling out of love with ‘Hatikva’), for the rest of the nation we say, Go for it!

Regata Internazionale Adaptive Rowing
GAVIRATE 27/04/2012 - 29/04/2012

Result List
(Event) Adaptive AS Women  Final A   Day 29   Race 29

Rank  Lane  Nation  Name
 1         4         ISR     SAMUEL Moran
 2         3         BRA    SANTOS Claudia
 3         5        CAN     REID Joan




H/T Elder of Ziyon

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 
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Frantzman - Falling out of love with ‘Hatikva’

Seth Frantzman..
Terra Incognita/JPost..
01 May '12..

Part of the Jewish world seems to be abuzz with a new plan for rewriting Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva.” Two left-leaning newspapers, Israel’s Haaretz and America’s The Forward, celebrated Israel’s 64th independence day with lead editorials demanding “an anthem for all.”

Haaretz editorialized that “No Arab citizen who had any self-respect, political awareness or national consciousness could sing these words without committing the sins of hypocrisy and falsehood...Hatikva is not their song.”

Ten days later the same newspaper, perhaps forgetting it had already run an editorial on this matter, again noted that “Israel needs an anthem that represents Arabs and Jews.” On April 27, the newspaper’s Independence Day issue again told the country that “Israel needs national symbols all citizens can identify with. Independence Day, like Hatikva and the flag... is not a holiday for Israeli Arabs... they lost their land and national honor [on that day].”

The Forward came out against Israel’s national anthem after its columnist “Philologos” noted that “It’s unacceptable to have an anthem that can’t be sung by 20% of a population. Permitting it to stand mutely while others sing is no solution.”

It is interesting that The Forward acknowledged that it was up to Israelis to decide, but the editorial also claimed “the conversation, like the song, belongs to all of us.”

These editorials offer up a litany of lies. First of all, in a classic colonial paternalistic mentality, that is all too common in the way people from the West treat the Middle East, the editors assumed they knew the hearts and minds of the Arabs.

The Jewish writers spoke about Arab honor and “no Arab citizen who had any self-respect.” The Orientalist always knows the Arab better than she knows herself, thus only the non-Arab can propose an anthem that the Arab can identify with.

Marcus - The Forward Suggests De-Judaizing Hatikva

Lori Lowenthal Marcus..
Z Street..
26 April '12..

Following on the heels of the Global March to Jerusalem*, planned by the Arab League but seized upon by Israel-haters everywhere, we have a new DE-JUDAIZATION effort. This one is brought to us by that iconic Jewish newspaper, now considered by some as an aider and abettor of the Israel-and- Jewish delegitimization crowd, the Jewish Daily Forward.

Today, on Yom Haatzmaut, the Forward's editorial suggests now is the time to consider ways to alter the Israeli Anthem, HaTikva, to make it more relevant, less objectionable, to all of Israel's inhabitants. In other words, to REMOVE THE JEWISH connection to Israel. But HaTikva is a historical poem. It is the story of a yearning, yes, a yearning of the Jews, to recreate our Homeland, to return to Zion, to the place where our people was born. It is through the realization of that hope that modern Israel was reborn. Israel was not created in the abstract, and its anthem, like most, reflects its history, its struggle and its unique tradition. Look at the anthems of virtually any country and there are references to specific gods, kings, and/or specific religions. Jordan's does, so do those of Iran, Switzerland, Germany, and the UK, to name just a few. Indeed, frequently entire anthems are infused with nationalistic, militaristic (China's) or religious imagery. Yet few states are entirely homogeneous, and most have recent immigrants for whom the specific historic story told in the anthem could be considered either irrelevant, or worse.

We think it is an outrage to suggest HaTikva needs to be de-Judaized, and to pretend that modern Israel was not founded in response to the ancient yearning - and yes, need - of the JEWS for a Jewish Homeland. For goodness sake, they sang it at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen! The Forward is inviting people to comment (and to make suggested changes). So let them know what you think, here.

Link: http://www.zstreet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=616:the-forward-suggests-de-judaizing-hatikva&catid=8:homepage

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 
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Hatikva at Bergen-Belsen

infolivetvenglish
Jan 3, 2010
H/T CiF Watch

In rare and moving footage dated to April 20th 1945, inmates at Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp sing the anthem of hope 'Hatikva.'



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Israeli wins gold in fencing; Austrian hosts don't play 'Hatikva'

JPost Staff
15 November 09

(Congratulations to Daria and her teammates, both for the win, and for knowing at 14, what's expected of you.)

Israeli fencer Daria Strelnikov won the gold medal at the cadet's fencing world championship in Austria Saturday night. However, as the 14-year-old athlete stood at the podium waiting to hear the Israeli national anthem, she was greeted by a disturbing quiet.

Strelnikov and a fellow teammate on the podium decided to fill in the silence by singing Hatikva themselves. They were joined by their coach, and other supporting voices in the crowd.
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