The text of Hatikvah was written in 1878 byNaftali Herz Imber, a Jewish poet fromZolochiv (Polish:Złoczów), a city nicknamed "The City of Poets",[2] then inAustrian Poland, today in Ukraine. His words "Lashuv le'eretz avotenu" (to return to the land of our forefathers) expressed its aspiration.[1]
In 1882, Imberemigrated toOttoman-ruledPalestine and read his poem to the pioneers of the early Jewish villages—Rishon LeZion,Rehovot,Gedera, andYesud Hama'ala.[3] In 1887,Shmuel Cohen, a very young (17 or 18 years old) resident of Rishon LeZion with a musical background, sang the poem by using a melody he knew from Romania and making it into a song, after witnessing the emotional responses of the Jewish farmers who had heard the poem.[4] Cohen's musical adaptation served as a catalyst and facilitated the poem's rapid spread throughout the Zionist communities of Palestine.
Imber's nine-stanzapoem, "Tikvatenu" [he] (תִּקְוָתֵנוּ, "Our Hope"), put into words his thoughts and feelings following the establishment ofPetah Tikva (literally "Opening of Hope"). Published in Jerusalem in Imber's first bookBarkai ("Shining Morning Star") from 1886,[5] it was subsequently adopted as an anthem by theHovevei Zion and later by theZionist Movement.
Before the founding of Israel
The Zionist Organization conducted two competitions for an anthem, the first in 1898 and the second, at the Fourth Zionist Congress, in 1900. The quality of the entries were all judged unsatisfactory and none was selected. Imber's "Tikvatenu", however, was popular, and a sessions at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel in 1901 concluded with the singing of the poem. During theSixth Zionist Congress at Basel in 1903, the poem was sung by those opposed to accepting the proposal for aJewish state in Uganda, their position in favor of the Jewish homeland in Palestine expressed in the line "An eye still gazes toward Zion".[6]
Although the poem was sung at subsequent congresses, it was only at the Eighteenth Zionist Congress inPrague in 1933 that a motion passed formally adopting "Hatikvah" as the anthem of the Zionist movement.[6]
TheBritish Mandate government briefly banned its public performance and broadcast from 1919, in response to an increase in Arab anti-Zionist political activity.[7][page needed]
A former member of theSonderkommando reported that the song was spontaneously sung by Czech Jews at the entrance to theAuschwitz-Birkenau gas chamber in 1944. While singing they were beaten byWaffen-SS guards.[8]
When theState of Israel was established in 1948, "Hatikvah" was unofficially proclaimed the national anthem. It did not officially become the national anthem until November 2004, when an abbreviated and edited version was sanctioned by theKnesset in an amendment to the Flag and Coat-of-Arms Law (now renamed the Flag, Coat-of-Arms, and National Anthem Law).[9]
In its modern rendering, the official text of the anthem incorporates only the first stanza and refrain of the original poem. The predominant theme in the remaining stanzas is the establishment of asovereign and free nation in the Land of Israel, a hope largely seen as fulfilled with the founding of the State of Israel.
Melody and its origins
The melody for "Hatikvah" is based from "La Mantovana", a 16th-century Italian song, composed by Giuseppe Cenci (Giuseppino del Biado) ca. 1600 with the text"Fuggi, fuggi, fuggi da questo cielo". Its earliest known appearance in print was in the del Biado's collection ofmadrigals. It was later known in early 17th-century Italy asBallo di Mantova. This melody gained wide currency inRenaissance Europe, under various titles, such as thePod Krakowem (in Polish),Cucuruz cu frunza-n sus [Maize with up-standing leaves] (in Romanian)[10] and theKateryna Kucheryava (in Ukrainian).[11] It also served as a basis for a number of folk songs throughout Central Europe, for example the popularSlovenian children songČuk se je oženil [Thelittle owl got married] (in Slovenian).[12] The best-known use of the melody prior to it becoming the Zionist anthem was by Czech composerBedřich Smetana in his set of six symphonic poems celebratingBohemia,Má vlast (My Homeland), namely in the second poem named after the river which flows through Prague,Vltava (also known as "The Moldau"). The melody was also used by the French composerCamille Saint-Saëns inRhapsodie bretonne.[13]
The adaptation of the music for "Hatikvah" was set bySamuel Cohen in 1888. Cohen himself recalled many years later that he had hummed "Hatikvah" based on the melody from the song he had heard in Romania, "Carul cu boi" (the ox-driven cart).[14]
The melody of "Hatikvah" follows aminor scale, which is often perceived as mournful in tone and is uncommon in national anthems. As the title "The Hope" and the words suggest, the import of the song is optimistic and the overall spirit uplifting.
Renditions, interpretations, and usage in popular music
Barbra Streisand performed "Hatikvah" in 1978 at a televised music special calledThe Stars Salute Israel at 30, a performance which included a conversation by telephone andvideo link with formerPrime MinisterGolda Meir.[18]
American musicianAnderson .Paak's 2016 release "Come Down" contains asample of "Hatikvah" in English, attributed to producerHi-Tek.[19]
A 2018 rendition of the anthem by Israeli Jewish singer Daniel Sa'adon that took inspiration from theLevantine music and dance styledabke caused controversy and accusations ofappropriation ofPalestinian culture, as well as consternation from some Israelis due to the tune's popularity withHamas.[20] Sa'adon, however, said that his desire was to "show that the unity of cultures is possible through music",[21] and that he has a longtime appreciation forSouthwest Asian andNorth African musical styles, having grown up withTunisian music in the home.[22] Sa'adon said that despite receiving "abusive comments" from both the right and the left of the political spectrum, he also received praise from friends and colleagues in the music world, includingArab citizens of Israel.[23]
On 25 May 2021, four days after the ceasefire that ended the2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, Israeli singersOmer Adam andNoa Kirel released apop remix of "Hatikvah" under the title "Hope". Produced byScott Storch, it contains additional lyrics in English. It received mixed reviews, with some Israelis deeming it direspectful. Adam and Kirel donated their proceeds from the song to YAHAD United for Israel's Soldiers.[24]
Text
Imber's handwritten text of the poem
The official text of the Israeli national anthem corresponds to the first stanza and amended refrain of the original nine-stanza poem byNaftali Herz Imber. Along with the originalHebrew, the corresponding transliteration[b] andEnglish translation are listed below.
As long as in his heart within, A soul of aJew still yearns, 𝄆 And onwards towards the ends of the east, His eye still looks towardsZion. 𝄇
As long as tears from our eyes Flow like benevolent rain, And throngs of our countrymen Still pay homage at the graves of our fathers.
As long as our preciousWall Appears before our eyes, 𝄆 And over the destruction of ourTemple An eye still wells up with tears. 𝄇
As long as the waters of theJordan In fullness swell its banks, And down to theSea of Galilee With tumultuous noise fall.
As long as on the barren highways The humbled city-gates mark, 𝄆 And among the ruins ofJerusalem A daughter of Zion still cries. 𝄇
As long as pure tears Flow from the eye of a daughter of my nation And to mourn for Zion at the watch of night She still rises in the middle of the nights.
As long as the feeling of love of nation Throbs in the heart of a Jew, 𝄆 We can still hope even today That a wrathfulGod may have mercy on us. 𝄇
Hear, oh my brothers in thelands of exile, The voice of one of our visionaries, 𝄆 [Who declares] that only with the very last Jew, Only there is the end of our hope! 𝄇
BBC recording from 20 April 1945 of Jewish survivors of theBergen-Belsen concentration camp singing "Hatikvah", only five days after their liberation by Allied forces. The words sung are from the original poem by Imber.
Some people compare the first line of the refrain, "Our hope is not yet lost" ("עוד לא אבדה תקותנו"), to the opening of thePolish national anthem, "Poland Is Not Yet Lost" ("Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła") or theUkrainian national anthem, "Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished" ("Ще не вмерла Україна; Šče ne vmerla Ukrajina"). This line may also be aBiblical allusion toEzekiel's "Vision of the Dried Bones" (Ezekiel 37: "…Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost (Hebrew:אבדה תקותנו)"), describing the despair of the Jewish people in exile, and God's promise to redeem them and lead them back to theLand of Israel.
The official text of "Hatikvah" is relatively short; indeed it is a singlecomplex sentence, consisting of two clauses: thesubordinate clause posits the condition ("As long as… A soul still yearns… And… An eye still watches…"), while theindependent clause specifies the outcome ("Our hope is not yet lost… To be a free nation in our land").
Objections and alternate proposals
By religious Jews
Somereligious Jews have criticised "Hatikvah" for the song's lack of religious emphasis: there is no mention of God or the Torah in its lyrics.[27][better source needed]
RabbiAbraham Isaac Kook wrote an alternative anthem titled "HaEmunah" ("The Faith") which he proposed as a replacement for "Hatikvah", while still endorsing the original anthem.[28]
Liberalism and the Right to Culture, written byAvishai Margalit andMoshe Halbertal, provides a social scientific perspective on the cultural dynamics in Israel, a country that is a vital home to many diverse religious groups. More specifically, Margalit and Halbertal cover the various responses towards "Hatikvah", which they establish as the original anthem of a Zionist movement, one that holds a 2,000-year-long hope of returning to the homeland ("Zion and Jerusalem") after a long period of exile.
To introduce the controversy of Israel's national anthem, the authors provide two instances where "Hatikvah" is rejected for the estrangement that it creates between the minority cultural groups of Israel and its national Jewish politics. Those that object find trouble in the mere fact that the national anthem is exclusively Jewish while a significant proportion of the state's citizenry is not Jewish and lacks any connection to the anthem's content and implications, despite the fact that many other religious countries also have anthems emphasising their religion.
As Margalit and Halbertal continue to discuss, "Hatikvah" symbolises for many Arab-Israelis the struggle of loyalty that comes with having to dedicate oneself to either their historical or religious identity.[29]
Specifically, Israeli-Arabs object to "Hatikvah" due to its explicit allusions to Jewishness. In particular, the text's reference to the yearnings of "a Jewish soul" is often cited as preventing non-Jews from personally identifying with the anthem. Notable persons whose refusal to sing Hatikvah was brought to public attention includeDruze politicianSaleh Tarif, the first non-Jew appointed to theIsraeli cabinet between 2001 and 2022,[30]Raleb Majadale, the first Muslim to be appointed as a minister in theIsraeli cabinet between 2007 and 2009,[31] andSalim Joubran, an Israeli Arab who served as a Supreme Court justice between 2003 and 2017.[32] For this reason from time to time proposals have been made to change the national anthem or to modify the text to make it inclusive of non-Jewish Israelis.[33]
^In the transliterations that appear on this page, a right quote (’) is used to represent the Hebrew letteraleph (א) when used as a consonant, while a left quote (‘) is used to represent the Hebrew letter‘ayin (ע). The lettere in parentheses,(e), indicates aschwa that should theoretically be voiceless, but is usually pronounced as a very shorte in modern Israeli Hebrew. In contrast, the lettera in parentheses,(a), indicates a very shorta that should theoretically be pronounced, but is usually not voiced in modern Israeli Hebrew.
^Kook, Rav,Response to Hatikvah,In more recent years, some Israeli Mizrahi (Eastern) Jews have criticised the song's western perspective. For Iraqi and Persian Jews, for example, the Land of Israel was in the west, and it was to this direction that they focused their prayers.
^Margalit, Avishai; Halbertal, Moshe (2004). "Liberalism and the Right to Culture".Social Research: An International Quarterly.71 (3). Johns Hopkins University Press:494–497.doi:10.1353/sor.2004.0025.S2CID141158881.
^Meranda, Amnon (17 March 2007)."Majadele refuses to sing national anthem".Ynetnews.Ynet News. Retrieved9 May 2007.I fail to understand how an enlightened, sane Jew allows himself to ask a Muslim person with a different language and culture, to sing an anthem that was written for Jews only.
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Kol 'od ba -- le -- vav pe -- ni -- mah
Ne -- fesh Ye -- hu -- di ho -- mi -- yah,
U -- l'fa -- a -- te miz -- rach ka -- di -- mah,
'A -- yin le -- Tzi -- yon tzo -- fi -- yah;
Od lo av -- dah ti -- kva -- te -- nu,
Ha -- tik -- vah bat shnot 'al -- pa -- yim,
Lih -- yot 'am chof -- shi be -- 'ar -- tze -- nu,
'E -- retz -- Tzi -- yon vi -- ru -- sha -- la -- yim.
Lih -- yot 'am chof -- shi be -- 'ar -- tze -- nu,
'E -- retz -- Tzi -- yon vi -- ru -- sha -- la -- yim.
}](/image.pl?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fscore%2f5%2f1%2f513xl3fhuw2xqo7c87mogartyjaxwbj%2f513xl3fh.png&f=jpg&w=240)
