The words to Israel’s national anthem Hatikva were written around 1878 by Naphtali Herz Imber, an English poet. Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia, put the lyrics to a folk melody from his home country. In 1898, the Jewish newspaper in Israel (before the state was established) ran a competition for an official national anthem. There were no winners from the contest but Hatikva quickly gained popularity. In 1901 and 1905, those at the Zionist congress sang Hatikva. By 1933 the words and melody changed slightly from the original but Israel now had a national anthem. Hatikva means “the hope.”
English translation:
As long as deep in the heart,
a Jewish soul yearns,
and towards the ends of the east
an eye looks to Zion,
our hope is not yet lost,
the hope of two thousand years,
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.
Hebrew transliteration:
Kol od ba levav penima
nefesh yehudi Homiyah
Ulefa’atei mizra’h kadima
Ayin le tziyon tsofiah
Od lo avda tiqvateinu
Hatiqva bat alpayim
Lihiot am ‘hofshi bey’artzeynu
Eretz tsiyon viyerushalaim
Lihiot am ‘hofshi be artzeinu
Eretz tsiyon viyerushalaim