Israel Matzav

'Palestinians' immitate Shwekey

On Monday and Tuesday nights, Mrs. Carl and I will be attending weddings, God willing. At each wedding, underneath the canopy, a glass will be broken, and the following words will be said or sung in Hebrew, as they have been at every Jewish wedding for hundreds of years:

If I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten, may my tongue cleave to my mouth if I do not remember thee, if I do not raise Jerusalem atop my celebration.

Would you believe that the 'Palestinians' are now claiming that's their custom? Official Palestinian Authority TV has produced and broadcast a music video imitating the Jewish tradition regarding Jerusalem, mimicking the Biblical expression "If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill, may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember thee," [Psalms 137:5]. This verse from the Book of Psalms expresses Jewish longing for Jerusalem after its destruction and the Jewish exile.

The song broadcast on PA TV and performed by an Egyptian singer includes scenes from the markets in the old city of Jerusalem, Arab children playing, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, blended with scenes of riots, stone-throwing, and clashes with Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem. No Jewish holy sites or landmarks are shown and the only Israelis seen are soldiers.

The song, which mimics the Jewish longing for Jerusalem described in the Bible, includes the following lyrics:

"May my right arm forget me, may my left arm forget me.
May the light of my eyes and the openings of songs forget me, if I forget Jerusalem."

Let's go to the videotape.



Those of you who don't watch my overnight music videos may not understand the reference in the title to "Shwekey." Singer Yaakov Shwekey has several music videos of the original song in Hebrew, which are combined with Jerusalem street scenes. For that matter, so do other Jewish singers, with different tunes, but I suspect Shwekey's are among the best known.

Let's go to the (much more pleasant) videotape. This one claims to be the 'original.' More after the video.



So are the 'Palestinians' not only copying the song, but the idea of posting it with street scenes? I suspect that they are.

The purpose of the current PA TV song may be to generate Palestinian feelings for "ancient Palestinian roots" in Jerusalem while denying Jewish history there. PMW reported on a PA TV broadcast of an interview with a Palestinian historian who told the audience that the term "If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem" was not from the Bible, but was a crusader term misappropriated by modern Zionism to falsify a Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority Television, Palestinian denial of Jewish history

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:48 PM