| "Leve Palestina" | |
|---|---|
 Original cover ofMitt hemlands jord | |
| Song by Kofia | |
| from the albumMitt hemlands jord | |
| Language | Swedish |
| Released | 1978 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:50 |
| Songwriter | George Totari |
"Leve Palestina" (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈlêːvɛpalɛsˈtîːna];transl. "Long Live Palestine") is a 1978protest song by Swedish-Palestinian band Kofia, written by its leader George Totari. A popular song atsocialist protests since its release, it has gone viral since the onset of theGaza war in 2023.
The bandKofia (Swedish for 'keffiyeh') was formed inGothenburg in 1972 by George Totari (born 1946 inNazareth), a Palestinian musician who moved to Sweden in 1967 amid theSix-Day War and became naturalized, alongside four other musicians: Palestinian percussionist Michel Kreitem (born 1946 inJerusalem), whose familywas forced to relocate to Jordan between 1948–1952, and who moved out in 1967 following his Swedish girlfriend; Swedish singer Carina Olsson; Swedish flute player Bengt Carlsson; and Swedish guitar,mandolin andoud player Mats Lundälv.[2][3][4][5][6] The band, whose formation changed various times over the years, was active in demonstratingagainst the Vietnam War andSouth African apartheid during the 1970s.[3]
"Leve Palestina", which Totari wrote as a protest song in response to the limitations on openlycriticizing Israel andthe denial of Palestinian identity in the country at the time,[2][4][7] was released as the last song of the 1978 albumMitt hemlands jord /أرض بلادي[a] under the title "Demonstrationssången /تحيا فلسطين",[b] and has subsequently become Kofia's best-known work.[4][5][8] The lyrics of the song depict the harvesting of wheat andolives in Palestine and thethrowing of rocks and firing of rockets at her enemies. "Leve Palestina" invokes the socialiststruggle against imperialism, calling for the downfall ofZionism and liberation of Palestine.[4][8][9] Kofia is recognized as the first case of a group singing about Palestine in a language other thanArabic, something which was met with mixed feelings among Arabs.[3]
The song has been regularly chanted at demonstrations in Sweden since it was written,[7][8] and has been censured by the Swedish authorities.[2] On theInternational Workers' Day in 2019, pro-Palestinian activists sang "Leve Palestina" at a demonstration inMalmö, drawing condemnation by both right-wing press and the rulingSocial Democratic Party.[2][4]The youth wing of the Social Democratic Party was also reported to the police for singing the song, and accused ofhate speech.[7] It subsequently agreed not to sing the song.[4][10]
In the wake of theGaza war and theIsraeli siege of Gaza, the song has seen a major revival, spreading through platforms likeTikTok andInstagram and becoming a rallying anthem at protests for the Palestinian cause across Europe.[2][9]
The song's viral spread began with a 30-second clip of an October 2023 protest inStockholm that one Swedish TikToker then set to the music of "Leve Palestina". That video has now been viewed five million times.[3][7] The song has been heard at protests fromJakarta toMadrid, and has been translated into languages including English, Arabic,Hindi andIndonesian.[7][11]
In the six months since the revival of "Leve Palestina" in October 2023, the song has drawn renewed criticism from theSwedish government.[7] Despite calls fromSweden's ruling party to ban or censor the song, and the direction of thepolice to disrupt its performance, "Leve Palestina" continues to be sung atSwedish rallies – events where the thousands of attendees have made police action impractical.[2]
