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Six Songs That Shaped Israel

IN CELEBRATION OF YOM HAATZMAUT, WE SHARE WITH YOU AN ISRAELI MINI PLAYLIST:
SONGS EVERY ISRAELI KNOWS THAT HAVE SHAPED ISRAEL AND ITS CULTURE THROUGHOUT ITS SHORT HISTORY

Suddenly lightning thundered,
someone shouted: Wounded!
I’m already here, the medic answered.
We’ve stepped on a mine! Shouted
the wounded man then,
I’m here, by your side, the medic replied…
תוֹב ָ א ת ַּ ד ְ מ ֶ ח ץ ֶ ר ֶ א ְּ ב הֹפ
ּ
שׁ ֵ בוֹח ְ ל ה ָ ד ָ ל ָ בּ
We survived, they’re coming!
PO BE’ERETZ CHEMDAT AVOT BALADA LACHOVESH The wounded man cried,
Written by Israeli playwright, Dan Alma- But did not hear a word from the medic.
Written by Israeli poets Yisrael Dushman gor, at age 21 in 1956. Brother, my brother! The wounded man cried,
and Chanina Karchevsky in 1912. Across the river, the rustling reeds.
Tune composed by Effi Netzer in 1968.
When Israeli politician and MK Chaim The song earned its success and fame
Boger was the principal of the Gymna- when Yehoram Gaon’s rendition won first
sia Herzliya High School in Tel Aviv, he place in the Israel Song Festival in 1969. It
asked Dushman and Karchevsky to write is considered one of Gaon’s most beloved
a marching song the students could sing songs, and won first place in a number of
while hiking the Land. other competitions.
The song is a back and forth conversation
The song became wildly popular among between a wounded soldier and his para- ב ָ ה ָ ז ל ֶ שׁ ם ִי ַ ל ָ שׁוּר ְי
religious and secular Zionists alike, and medic. Like other ballads, the hero of the YERUSHALAYIM SHEL ZAHAV
is sung every year at the Yom HaAtzmaut song, the paramedic, meets his tragic end
ceremony on Har Herzl. at the conclusion of the song. Although Written by Naomi Shemer in 1967.
it was not based on one specific story, it
This song expresses the Zionist dream bears similarities to other incidents which Probably the most famous and most
moving Israeli song of all time, Yerusha-
of making aliyah, setting the Land and did occur. Written after the Six-Day War, layim Shel Zahav describes the Jewish
reviving the Hebrew language. the song was seen by many as represent- people’s 2,000-year longing for Yerusha-
ing the bravery and heroism of the Israeli layim, referencing Tanach and Talmudic

,תוֹו ְק ִתּ ַה ל ָכּ ה ָנ ְמׁ ֵשּ ַגּ ְת ִתּ תוֹב ָא ת ַדּ ְמ ֶח ץ ֶר ֶא ְבּ הֹפּ soldier. sources as well as borrowing from Rabbi
א ֵה ְתּ הֹפּ ,רוֹר ְדּ יֵיּ ַח ר ַהֹז יֵיּ ַח ,רֹצּ ִנ הֹפוּ הֶי ְח ִנ הֹפּ For many years, the song was played on Yehuda HaLevi’s Zionistic poetry. It was
the radio only on Yom HaZikaron. It is written by Naomi Shemer, and commis-
.ה ָרוֹתּ ַה ת ַפׂ ְש ם ַגּ ח ַר ְפ ִתּ הֹפּ ,ה ָרוֹשׁ ה ָני ִכׁ ְשּ ַה
played at many graduation ceremonies at sioned by Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek,
Here in the Land our ancestors yearned for the Military Medical School. for the Israeli Song Festival, held on May
All hopes will be fulfilled, א ָמּ ֻ גְו ר ָה ָנּ ַה ד ֶ ג ֶנּ ִמ . ַעוּג ָר הָי ָה לֹכּ ַה .ט ַא ְל וּמ ְדּ ַק ְת ִה ם ֵה 15, 1967, the night after Israel’s 19th Inde-
pendence Day. East Yerushalayim was
Here we will live and here we will build, י ִנ ֲא ! ַעוּצ ָפּ :ק ַע ָצ ד ָח ֶא ,ק ָר ָבּ ם ַע ַר םוֹא ְת ִפּ שׁ ֵר ְשׁ ַר ְמ controlled by Jordan, and Jews had been
ק ַע ָצ - !שׁ ֵקוֹמ ל ַע וּני ִל ָע .שׁ ֵבוֹח ַה וֹל ה ָנ ָע -א ָבּ ר ָב ְכּ
A shining life, a life of freedom, ...שׁ ֵבוֹח ַה וֹל ה ָנ ָע - ךָ ְדּ ִצ ְל ,ןא ָכּ י ִנ ֲא , ַעוּצ ָפּ ַה ז ָא banned from visiting the Old City.
Here shall the Shechina dwell, אלֹ ךְ ַא , ַעוּצ ָפּ ַה ז ָא ב ֵבִּי - ”!םי ִא ָבּ ם ֵה ,וּנ ְל ַצּ ִנ“ Three weeks later, when the Six-Day War
broke out, the song became a morale-
And here the language of ב ֵבִּי - ”!י ִלּ ֶשׁ י ִח ֲא ,י ִח ֲא“ .שׁ ֵבוֹח ַה ן ִמ ה ָלי ִמ ע ַמ ָשׁ booster for the Israeli soldiers. On June
the Torah will flourish .שׁ ֵר ְשׁ ַר ְמ א ָמּ ֻגּ ַה ר ָה ָנּ ַל ר ֶב ֵע ֵמ , ַעוּצ ָפּ ַה ז ָא 7th, 1967, the IDF freed eastern Yerusha-
They progressed slowly. Everything was calm. layim, the Old City and Har HaBayit
On the other side, the river from the Jordanians. At the time, Shemer
and rustling reeds. was about to perform for a troop of

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