http://israelisatirelab.blogspot.com/2007/12/minister-of-education-proposes-israel.html Minister of Education Proposes: Israel to Change National Anthem
ISL-Jerusalem
For years the uplifting Israeli national anthem called "HaTikva" expressed the age-long desire of Jews all over the world: "The hope of two thousand years, To be a free nation in our land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem," says the anthem.
However, according to Yuli Tamir the Peace Now Minister of Education, the words of the national anthem have become outdated and in fact, are quite offending, "First of all, 'Zion' is an offensive, racist term for a land that belongs to many peoples," said Tamir, " It would be more appropriate to call this land by a more natural sounding name such as 'Palestine'
"Second," Tamir said, "The song talks about hope – but of course we have no hope. It is much better to admit that than to continue with this charade. This land was, perhaps, our land, but the times are changing and it is about time we revised the anthem to reflect the new reality. "
Tamir has proposed a new anthem, based on the American folk song "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie (watch the video here), with lyrics altered to fit the new spiritual reality that Tamir and her friends are living in. It goes something like this:
This Land is Their Land
This land was our land, let's make it their land,
From the Eilat mountains to the Galil hilltops,
From Dizengoff Center to Har Bracha,
This land was made for Arab thieves.
As I was riding the bus to work,
I saw before me a blinding light,
I saw below me I had no legs,
Good thing we signed that peace treaty
Chorus
I've shopped and dined in the streets of Paris,
The shops in London, and New York City,
And all around me a voice was sounding,
Israel don't mean a thing to me
Chorus
No sun comes shining, the night is blinding,
No children laughing, no future happening,
The hate within me, it nearly killed me,
This lonely road, it was made for you and me.
According to Tamir's plan, children will have to sing the new national anthem every morning at school, right after reciting the Pledge of Treason.