An Empty Feeling

Songs of our times
Carol Novis

"...Last week, a quarter of a million Israelis watched a television show on Channel 1 which featured the best Israeli songs since 1948, chosen by vote. No pub songs were in evidence. Instead, the top three choices - Naomi Shemer's "Jerusalem of Gold," Shmuel Hasfari's "Children of Winter '73" and Haim Guri's "Song of Friendship" - reflected nothing more strongly than the ambivalence many Israelis feel about the state of their country, 60 years on. The songs bear a burden of more than the sum of their lyrics and melodies; they encapsulate concerns about what is, what was and what will become of Israel in the years ahead.

On the face of it, "Jerusalem of Gold," which was also chosen as the "Song of the Jubilee" on Israel's 50th Independence Day, was not a surprising choice. At the 1967 Israel Song Festival shortly before the Six Day War, the sweet, pure voice of young soldier Shuly Natan captured the gestalt of its time and the song become a classic. Over the years there have even been suggestions that "Jerusalem of Gold," with its biblical and nationalistic references such as the sounding of the ram's horn on the Temple Mount, replace "Hatikvah" as Israel's national anthem.

But what seemed simple then has come to seem much more complex since. Critics have noted that the marketplace and Temple Mount were far from empty as Shemer suggested; we just didn't see the Arabs who filled the place. And today, many of the song's references come across as ironic. The road to Jericho from Jerusalem may be open, but many Israelis prefer to avoid it. Not too many Jews have in fact returned to the Temple Mount or to the markets of East Jerusalem, which is divided by an invisible line from the rest of the city. What was seen then as unification is referred to by some today as occupation.

SO WHY was "Jerusalem of Gold" voted the best Israeli song ever? Perhaps because the choice reflects a wistful longing for a simpler time, when Israel could win a great victory and the support of most of the world by virtue of its superior determination and moral right.

I wrote:

Carol Novis writes of Naomi Shemer's "Jerusalem of Gold" that "critics have noted that the marketplace and Temple Mount were far from empty as Shemer suggested; we just didn't see the Arabs who filled the place" ("Songs of our times", May 13).

But the point Shemer was making was that those places were indeed empty - but of Jews and foremost of Jews. Despite UN assurances and other international guarantees, the Arabs who were in the city's eastern neighborhoods until 1967 refused we Jews our rights of access to the Western Wall, destroyed our synagogues and desecrated our cemeteries on Mt. of Olives. Yes, today, the Old City marketplace is not bustling with Jews but that is because of Arab terror stabbings and Israel's security failures. And, yes, the Temple Mount does not yet have a shofar blowing or Jews praying on it but that is because Israel discriminates against Jews.

Given this situation, "Jerusalem of Gold" will remain our substitute anthem and our most popular song because our national aspirations, still partially empty, need to be fulfilled.