NEW CAREER SUGGESTED FOR AVIGDOR LIEBERMAN // ISRAELI SONG AND DANCE MAN

December 30, 2012 at 09:48 (Hasbara, Israel, Israeli Elections)

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It looks like the Israeli E R C (Extreme Right Camp) is about to lose one of its leading players if Liberman’s conviction holds up in court. But, it also looks like there is a new career for the Foreign Minister,  as a song and dance man … a career that is suggested by Hanin Zoabi’s Party, Balad. As a sidenote, the Israeli Supreme court today ruled that Hanin Zoabi be allowed to run in the upcoming election.

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E R C’s official rag, Arutz 7, is a bit irked by Balad’s election video which deals with Israel’s National Anthem, Hatikva. Since it officially became the anthem, Hatikva has been a thorn in the sides of all non Jewish residents in Israel as can be seen by its words …

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Hatikva text in Hebrew:

עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ, הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם, לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ, אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם.

כֹּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָה נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה, וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח, קָדִימָה, עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה,

Transliteration of Hatikva text:

Kol od balevav penimah, Nefesh yehudi homiyah, Ulefa-atei mizrach, kadimah, Ayin letziyon tsofiyah.

Od lo avdah tikvateinu Hatikva bat shnot alpayim, Lihyot am chofshi be-artzeinu, Eretz tzion, virushalayim.

Translation of the Hatikva:

As long as in the heart within, The Jewish soul yearns, And toward the eastern edges, onward, An eye gazes toward Zion.

Our hope is not yet lost, The hope that is two-thousand years old, To be a free nation in our land, The Land of Zion, Jerusalem.

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… Words that definitely do not represent the interests of Palestinians living here. For years it has been proposed that the words be changed to represent all of the citizens in Israel.

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The following was published on Arutz 7 dealing with the video in question…

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In Zoabi Video, Lieberman Sings in Arabic

The Balad party’s election video features a Middle Eastern version of Hatikva.

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The Arab Balad party’s election video is an animated clip showing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and several nationalist MKs singing Hatikva in to a Middle Eastern tune.

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In the clip, Lieberman explains that he was the one who proposed a law requiring citizens to pledge allegiance to the state of Israel in order to be eligible for an ID card. He then announces that he has now become convinced that the tune of Hatikva – Israel’s national anthem – should be changed so that Arabs feel comfortable singing it as well.

The well-executed clip follows, with MKs Aryeh Eldad, Danny Danon, Ofir Akunis and Michael Ben-Ari “singing” accompanying Lieberman singing Hatikva.

It ends with a narrator asking: “Did you laugh? But the situation is not funny. Who can prevent these laws? Vote Balad.”

Some Arabs have complained that they cannot identify with the anthem, which appeals to the “Jewish heart” and “an eye watching Zion,” as well as “the 2,000-year-old hope, to be a free nation in our country – the Land of Zion and Jerusalem.”

Balad’s founder, Azmi Bishara, escaped Israel after a Shin Bet investigation found that he had assisted Hizbullah in selecting targets to bomb during the Second Lebanon War. Current Balad MK Hanin Zoabi has been disqualified from running for the 19th Knesset, but the High Court may overturn the disqualification.