Antisemitic op-ed against normalization adds words to Israeli anthem: “May their skies be covered with terror and fear as we imbed our bayonets into their chest… and we will see their spilled blood and their severed heads"
Excerpt of an op-ed by Muwaffaq Matar, Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: "Israeli judo and gymnastics in the 'A to B' of the Arab initiative"
"Who would have imagined this situation – that the Palestinian leadership is reaching groundbreaking achievements on the front with the Israeli occupation state, [a front] which spreads from Europe to the edges of the continents, and achieves political, legal, and diplomatic victories for the Palestinian people and its cause, which is the central cause of the Arab nation; and on the other hand, we see the Israeli occupation state reaching groundbreaking and serious achievements in the area of normalization in the Arab strategic depth (i.e. deep in the Arab world) and reaching achievements for the benefit of the claim and statement of the head of the racist extremism and terror coalition government, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, the gist of which is: 'Israel and the Arabs in one front against Iran’! …
We know well that official relations, some of which have been under the table and some of them above the table, clearly contradict the decisions of the Beirut Summit in 2002, and in an open manner. But what hurts today – and we will not exaggerate if we say 'tragedy' – is that we see Israeli sports teams appear before audiences in sports arenas in Arab countries, while waving the flag of the occupation state.
And what hurts even more is that the audience stands while the occupation state of Israel's anthem is played…
To our Arab brothers, the audiences in the arenas of the world championship in judo and gymnastics: Look at the words of the Israeli terrorist racist occupation’s colonialist anthem, which you stand silently and listen to, and hear its tune against the background of a wide smile on the face of extremist [Israeli] Minister of Culture and Youth (sic., Minister of Culture and Sport) Miri Regev of the state that is acting to destroy the culture of Palestine's young people, and to diminish its hopes of achieving freedom and independence, and also peace.
You are likely to hear a group of people from among them – which also includes soldiers who have killed Palestinian children and young people, voicing the following words in your ears – and you might be hoping to go deaf before these words reach your ears. You will hear from them these words: 'As long as there is a Jewish soul in the heart, that yearns forward towards the east – our hope has not been lost… [ellipsis in source] a thousand year old dream about our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem… [ellipsis in source] May all our enemies shake, may all the residents of Canaan shake, may all those who dwell in Babylon shake, may their skies be covered with terror and fear as we imbed our bayonets into their chests… [ellipsis in source] and we will see their spilled blood and their severed heads – and then God's chosen people will reach the place of God's desire’ (very different from the actual text of the Israeli national anthem, which expresses the Jews' longing to be a free nation in their own land, Israel; see text below –Ed.).
Rejoice, our brothers. 'The Jewish ISIS' has entered your homes, even with its blue flag, while you are enjoying the description of the bayonets imbedded in the chests of the descendants of Canaan, and the description of the severed heads! We are all responsible for these widespread breaches in the wall of our Arab strategic depth – popular unions and organizations, and Palestinian associations, and their counterparts among our Arab brothers."
The actual text of the Israeli anthem HaTikva (The Hope):
"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."
Headline: "Israeli judo and gymnastics in the 'A to B' of the Arab initiative"
"Who would have imagined this situation – that the Palestinian leadership is reaching groundbreaking achievements on the front with the Israeli occupation state, [a front] which spreads from Europe to the edges of the continents, and achieves political, legal, and diplomatic victories for the Palestinian people and its cause, which is the central cause of the Arab nation; and on the other hand, we see the Israeli occupation state reaching groundbreaking and serious achievements in the area of normalization in the Arab strategic depth (i.e. deep in the Arab world) and reaching achievements for the benefit of the claim and statement of the head of the racist extremism and terror coalition government, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, the gist of which is: 'Israel and the Arabs in one front against Iran’! …
We know well that official relations, some of which have been under the table and some of them above the table, clearly contradict the decisions of the Beirut Summit in 2002, and in an open manner. But what hurts today – and we will not exaggerate if we say 'tragedy' – is that we see Israeli sports teams appear before audiences in sports arenas in Arab countries, while waving the flag of the occupation state.
And what hurts even more is that the audience stands while the occupation state of Israel's anthem is played…
To our Arab brothers, the audiences in the arenas of the world championship in judo and gymnastics: Look at the words of the Israeli terrorist racist occupation’s colonialist anthem, which you stand silently and listen to, and hear its tune against the background of a wide smile on the face of extremist [Israeli] Minister of Culture and Youth (sic., Minister of Culture and Sport) Miri Regev of the state that is acting to destroy the culture of Palestine's young people, and to diminish its hopes of achieving freedom and independence, and also peace.
You are likely to hear a group of people from among them – which also includes soldiers who have killed Palestinian children and young people, voicing the following words in your ears – and you might be hoping to go deaf before these words reach your ears. You will hear from them these words: 'As long as there is a Jewish soul in the heart, that yearns forward towards the east – our hope has not been lost… [ellipsis in source] a thousand year old dream about our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem… [ellipsis in source] May all our enemies shake, may all the residents of Canaan shake, may all those who dwell in Babylon shake, may their skies be covered with terror and fear as we imbed our bayonets into their chests… [ellipsis in source] and we will see their spilled blood and their severed heads – and then God's chosen people will reach the place of God's desire’ (very different from the actual text of the Israeli national anthem, which expresses the Jews' longing to be a free nation in their own land, Israel; see text below –Ed.).
Rejoice, our brothers. 'The Jewish ISIS' has entered your homes, even with its blue flag, while you are enjoying the description of the bayonets imbedded in the chests of the descendants of Canaan, and the description of the severed heads! We are all responsible for these widespread breaches in the wall of our Arab strategic depth – popular unions and organizations, and Palestinian associations, and their counterparts among our Arab brothers."
The actual text of the Israeli anthem HaTikva (The Hope):
"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."