MKs hear proposals on changing lyrics to national anthem
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The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in the past month debated a number of proposals to change the lyrics to the national anthem so that it will also apply to non-Jewish citizens of Israel, particularly the state's Arab citizens. The debates were held within the framework of meetings on formulating a "widely approved constitution." The main proposal debated was to change the lyric "the soul of a Jew yearns" to "the soul of an Israeli yearns."
Shinui faction chairman MK Reshef Chayne proposed the modification to the words "the soul of an Israeli yearns," claiming that this would not adversely affect the song. Shinui MK Ronnie Brizon, who is not a member of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and did not take part in the debates, proposed adding a verse to Hatikva in Arabic.
Professor Ruth Gavison, who was recently mentioned as a possible candidate for the Supreme Court and who participates regularly in Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee debates, proposed adding a neutral national anthem, in addition to Hatikva. A similar proposal was made several years ago by former state prosecutor Miriam Ben Porat.
The real surprise on the matter is that the individual leading the debate on modifying the national anthem is committee chairman MK Michael Eitan, a sworn member of the Likud party's nationalist camp.
Likud faction head Gideon Sa'ar holds a completely different opinion. In response to a question on whether he is willing to compromise on the national anthem, he told the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee: "In a word, no. In two words, definitely not. I wouldn't make any changes to Hatikva. It would be a compromise on the state's identity."
The committee debate is preliminary, and it will be some time before changes to the national anthem are presented for Knesset approval. In November of last year, the Knesset legalized the current version of the national anthem, obligating all modifications to be passed in three Knesset readings. This came after 56 years in which the words to Hatikva were not protected by law.
To the Haaretz article