Jews have lived continuously in The Land since Biblical times, but the first real Zionist group, the Biluim, arrived there from Russia on 7/6/1882.

          So long as within the inmost heart 
            A Jewish spirit still sings,
          So long as the eye looks eastward,
            Gazing toward Zion,
  
          Our hope is not lost—
            That hope of two millennia,
          To be a free people in our land,
            The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
          To be a free people in our land,
            The land of Zion and Jerusalem. 

"HaTikvah" ("The Hope"), original Hebrew words by English/Bohemian poet, Naftali Herz Imber (1856-1909) in about 1894. Samuel Cohen arranged the melody, probably based on the theme in Smetana's "Moldau." The much-used tune first appeared in 1608 in Mantua and Playford includes it in English Country Dances.

Copyright © 2005, Abby Sale - all rights reserved
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