Noa Kirel. Photo: Courtesy of IDF’s Meitav unit.
Israeli Singers Omer Adam, Noa Kirel Release Remix of ‘Hatikvah’ National Anthem in Wake of Gaza War
by Shiryn Ghermezian Algemeiner News
Israeli singers Omer Adam and Noa Kirel released on Tuesday a remix of Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah” (“Hope”).
In an Instagram post, Adam explained that especially at this moment, with the end of Operation Guardian of the Walls, Israelis must remember not to lose
“So we took our amazing anthem, that fills our heart and soul with pride every time we sing it, and we added some more words of hope to it, in Hebrew and in English, and we also brought in two great international artists, who worked together with us,” Adam said. “We remind you that there is nothing like our people and our soldiers, and that we should not lose hope! God willing, good days will come upon us and we will return to being one nation in one heart.”
The song additionally features artists Scott Storch and rapper LunchMoney Lewis.
Adam also talked about the whirlwind past year, with Israel overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and then the deadly tragedy at Meron, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the rise of antisemitic attacks against Jews around the world. Kirel, who is also an IDF soldier, in her own Instagram post echoed similar sentiments about the difficult year Jews and Israelis have faced, and said she hopes the new song will “lift morale and emphasize our pride” in being Israeli, “in unity, [and] in togetherness.”
She added, “This morning we are amping up the speakers — together with the soldiers, fighters, medical teams, volunteers [and] good people. We are with our heads held high, lifting [our heads] to better times, beautiful days and better news.”
This is first collaboration between Adam and Kirel. All proceeds from the song will go to YAHAD United for Israel’s Soldiers, according to Arutz Sheva.
Hatikvah” ( “The Hope”) is a 19th-century Jewish poem and the national anthem of Israel. The theme of the romantic composition reflects the Jews’ 2,000-year-old hope of returning to the Land of Israel and reclaiming it as a free and sovereign nation. Its lyrics are adapted from a poem by Naftali Herz Imber, a Jewish poet from Złoczów (today Zolochiv, Ukraine), which was then in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria under Austrian rule. Imber wrote the first version of the poem in 1877, while he was a guest of a Jewish scholar in Iași, Romania.
