Is Your Capital Central to Your Country?

Posted on December 20, 2017 by First.One.Through

The United Nations Security Council pushed forward a vote that the United States could not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel nor move its embassy there. The vote failed, as the United States exercised its veto power as one of the five permanent members of the UNSC. In response, the UN General Assembly is set to take a non-binding vote about the same issue on December 21, 2017.

It is beyond question that every country has the right to name its own capital, even a country despised by the United Nations like Israel.

What is particularly galling about this effort launched by the leader of Turkey, is that Israel is the only country that considers its capital city to be central to its identity. So much so, that its national anthem is all about Jerusalem.

So it is worth posing a question to the members of the UN Security Council:

United States: is your anthem about Washington, D.C.?
China: is your anthem about Beijing?
Russia: is your anthem about Moscow?
France: is your anthem about Paris?
United Kingdom: is your anthem about London?
Bolivia: is your anthem about Sucre?
Egypt: is your anthem about Cairo?
Ethiopia: is your anthem about Addis Ababa?
Italy: Is your anthem about Rome?
Japan: is your anthem about Tokyo?
Kazakhstan: is your anthem about Astana?
Senegal: is your anthem about Dakar?
Sweden: is your anthem about Stockholm?
Ukraine: is your anthem about Kiev?
Uruguay: is your anthem about Montevideo?

The answer to all of the above is no. Their capital cities are simply where the seats of government resides. For some countries like Egypt and Italy, the capitals have been there for many centuries.

But there is only one country in the entire United Nations, whose capital is so integral to the essence of the nation, that it’s national anthem is completely about its capital.

“As long as in our hearts within

The Jewish soul yearns,

And towards the eastern edges, onward,

An eye gazes towards 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.“

#JerusalemIsIsraelsCapital

Related First.One.Through music video:

The anthems of the Middle East (Enya)

The 1967 “Borders” (The Kinks)

Ethiopian Jews come Home (Phillip Phillips)

Judea and Samaria (Foo Fighters)

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Hope versus Hate. The Anthems of Different Peoples.

Posted on July 1, 2014 by First.One.Through

In the two and one-half weeks since three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped, the government of Israel dispatched hundreds in search parties to find the boys, called “Operation Brothers’ Keeper.” The citizens of the country, and Jews and civilized people around the world, hoped and prayed for the boys’ safe return. The reactions were emblematic of Israel’s culture: to actively pursue – by physical and metaphysical means – a better future. A future that includes life and peace for its entire people.

The reaction from Israel’s Arab neighbors was also emblematic of their culture. Hamas spokesman Khaled Mashaal said “If it turns out the kidnapping really happened, I welcome it.” The mother of one of the men accused of the kidnapping, Amer Abu Aysha, said that “If he truly did it – I’ll be proud of him till my final day.”

Those sentiments of hatred can be found throughout the Arab and Muslim Middle East in their national anthems. Country after country have songs calling for death, vendetta and martyrdom, as seen in the video below. These are not army marching songs, but the values that are instilled in the people every day before soccer matches and graduations. Here is a small sample:

“We all sacrifice for you, we supply you with our blood” – UAE

“Our martyrs’ souls are formidable guardians” – Syria

“We will drink from death” – Iraq

“Palestine is my vendetta and the land of withstanding” – Palestinian Authority

“A life of dignity and a death of glory” – Tunisia

“We never betray the call for sacrifice, death” – Sudan

“On our dead we build glory” – Algeria

“May God take my life” – Turkey

“We are your sacrifices” – Libya

“Remember through my joy, each martyr” – Yemen

“The Kurdish youth are ever-ready And always prepared to sacrifice their lives To sacrifice their lives, to sacrifice their lives” – Kurdistan

These aspirations stand in sharp contrast to the national anthem of the Jewish State of Israel, a democracy in the middle of the Middle East. Israel’s anthem is called “Hatikva”, which means “The Hope”.

“Our hope of 2000 years is not lost. To be a free people in our land- the land of Zion and Jerusalem.”