Popular Palestinian song misrepresents Israeli cities as Palestinian
Winner of Arab Idol song contest 2013 Muhammad Assaf: "If you ask about folk songs that have affected me, there are plenty, but the most prominent one is 'Oh flying bird.'"
PA TV host: "Your version became famous."
Muhammad Assaf: "It is a folk song... The young know it by heart as well as the old. The song is about the Palestinian towns and villages. I sang a small part of it. It includes Palestine from the northern end to the southern end...
By Allah, oh traveling [bird], I burn with envy.
My country Palestine is beautiful.
Turn to Safed, and then to Tiberias,
and send regards to the sea of Acre and Haifa.
Don't forget Nazareth, the Arab fortress,
and tell Beit Shean about its people's return."
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Note: Different versions of this song misrepresent the following places in Israel as "Palestine": Jaffa, Ramle, Safed, Tiberias, Acre, Haifa, Nazareth, Beit Shean, Be'er Sheva. The other versions mention the following places in the PA: Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Gaza.
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