Building Bridges of Understanding since 1887
Israel has never officially declared a national anthem, but this hymn from the Zionist movement is the "de facto" equivalent. The words were written in 1878 by Naphtali Herz Imber, and the music is from a popular Moldavian folk melody. An attempt at translation appears here below the transliterated Hebrew words.
HATIKVAH
Kol-od ba-le-vav p'ni-ma
Nefesh Y'hu-di ho-mi-ya,
Ul'fa-atey miz-rach ka-dima
Ayin L'-Tzi-yon tzo-fi-ya,
Od lo av-da tik-va-tey-nu
Ha-tik-va bat sh'not al-pa-yim
Li-yot am chof-shi b'-artzenu
Eretz Tzi-yon viru-shalayim.
Li-yot am chof-shi b'-artzenu
Eretz Tzi-yon viru-shalayim.
THE HOPE
(A fairly literal translation)
As long as deep within the heart
The Jewish soul pines
And toward the edges of the east
An eye to Zion looks
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years
To be a free people in our own land
In the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
To be a free people in our own land
In the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
