Hatikvah: The Story Behind the Anthem

Unpacking Israeli History

Unpacked

Judaism, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2020

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, predates the establishment of the Jewish state by decades. Zionist leader Theodor Herzl hated it and many of Israel’s citizens refuse to sing it. So, how did this unlikely song take the national anthem top spot? What were the alternatives? And are there any plans to change it? Join Noam Weissman as he deconstructs the music, melody and meaning behind Hatikvah. ~~~~ The Unpacking Israeli History Podcast series is sponsored by Andrea and Larry GillThis episode is sponsored by Jack and Ellen Kahan Zager in honor of Ala and Yoske (z”l) Brosh ~~~~ Learn more about Unpacked: https://jewishunpacked.com/about/ Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked Teaching about this topic? Check out our relevant educator resources here: https://unpacked.education/video/history-of-israels-national-anthem-does-hatikvah-mean-hope-for-all/ ~~~~ Sources: Song "Hatikva" version by Daniel Saadon - Instagram @daniel_saadon1995 https://israelforever.org/interact/blog/hatikvah_song_of_hope_time_of_despair/ https://www.neaman.org.il/EN/Files/Hatikva-The%20Real%20Story%20behind%20Israels%20anthem.pdf https://www.songfacts.com/facts/traditional/hatikvah https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/2405/jewish-tunes-similar-to-non-jewish-ones https://www.timesofisrael.com/rivlin-said-to-vow-he-will-sign-nation-state-law-in-arabic/ https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hatikvah/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-an-unwieldy-romantic-poem-and-a-romanian-folk-song-combined-to-produce-hatikva/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-an-unwieldy-romantic-poem-and-a-romanian-folk-song-combined-to-produce-hatikva/ https://www.haaretz.com/1.5028325 https://www.haaretz.com/1.4817521 http://www.jewishledger.com/2013/04/hatikvah-in-the-holocaust/ https://www.jta.org/1944/11/28/archive/jewish-flyer-who-fled-german-prison-camp-tells-of-mistreatment-of-jews http://www.thetower.org/article/hatikva-keeps-its-edge-despite-everything/ https://www.thetorah.com/article/tikvatenu-the-poem-that-inspired-israels-national-anthem-hatikva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywq1wXU_HZs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtMhYQoEgCs https://www.timesofisrael.com/expert-confirms-jews-and-arabs-nearing-population-parity/ http://www.thetower.org/article/hatikva-keeps-its-edge-despite-everything/ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israels-anthem-and-a-row-about-harmony-7576841.html https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4397079,00.html https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/arabs-should-not-have-to-sing-hatikvah-say-israelis/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-blasts-hebrew-u-over-report-it-nixed-hatikvah-to-avoid-offending-arab-students/ ~~~~ Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, I'm Norm Weisman, and you're listening to unpacking Israeli history,
0:04.0	the podcast that takes a deep dive into some of the most intense,
0:07.6	historically fascinating, and confusing events in Israeli history.
0:12.0	All that in just about 20 minutes.
0:14.6	Yala, let's do this. We the people of Israel are people.
0:25.0	We, the people of Israel are prepared and anxious to meet the representatives of our neighbors without any preconditions.
0:36.0	There are people in Israel elsewhere say it's impossible to make peace within the Arabs in Israel or the Jewish people.
0:45.0	I think they're home.
0:47.0	I get really emotional whenever I hear the Atikva, and I know I'm not alone in saying that.
0:55.4	In November of 2019 17 year old Israeli Alon-Leviev to gold in the junior category at the
1:02.4	Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in Abu Dhabi.
1:05.0	As he stood on a podium after the tournament to receive his medal,
1:10.0	the presenter congratulated him and then introduced the Israeli National Anthem.
1:15.0	This melody began to play. You might be wondering why this is a big deal.
1:27.0	Well, this is only the second time in history that a Gulf State allowed the Israeli national anthem
1:35.4	to be played, the first time taking place in Abu Dhabi one year prior at a judo tournament.
1:41.5	Before that, if Israeli athletes were even allowed to compete in an
1:45.0	international tournament hosted in an Arab country, it was expected that
1:50.0	their flag and anthem would not be welcome.
1:53.8	The video of the Atikva melody playing as a lone leviev stood on that podium
1:58.6	was covered in many newspapers and shared widely on social media.
2:02.2	And it was generally understood to be a big deal bringing many to tears.
	...

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