'A solemn patriotic song officially adopted by a country as an expression of national identity' There is no song I can think of that strikes so much emotion and so evocative of the trials and hopes of the Jewish people as the haunting moving yet uplifting music and words of Hatikvah Is it time though we considered having a second verse or even a second 'anthem' much like many other countries that better reflects the Israel of today and that all cultures and religious pursuasions can embrace with confidence and conviction? Why don't we have a National Contest that invites compositions from aspiring Herz Imbers from all over the world that will involve the interest and participation of the entire population of Israel? With these - the rousing and inspiring words of the sentence of the Hatikvah that warts and all - is the very heart and soul of Modern Israel To be a free people in our land Ode lo avdah tikvatenu Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim

Israel is a JEWISH country, founded to give JEWS a refuge from the Jew-haters of the world. So the anthem advances JEWISH themes. I don't care what Arabs/Muslims want. Israel was not founded to deprive Arabs/Muslims of living in peace, to earn a living, and to raise a family.

This is obvious to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear. Nobody is trying to hide it. Ask Zoabi how hard she is trying to hide her hatred of Israel!

An Arab cannot be a good Muslim unless he is a Zionist. The Surih of the Table in the Qu'ran, revealed by the Prophet Muhamad, tells the Jews to re-enter and inhabit all of Zion without hesitation.The clerics poison this clear well.

according to Mr Yemini: appease the arabs so they can't continue to undermine and destroy the Jewish state... No real Zionist can deny that is their goal. You're blind, Mr Yemini, open your eyes!

except for those religious "Settlers" who are despised by the likes of this author and the left in general. Arabs are as loyal or as not loyal as secular G-dless Israelis who are out to destroy the Jewish state. Both of them have no love to Israel.

This is a very good article, showing deep perspective and an appreciation for the nuances of history and identity. The critical comments above are unfair. Zionism was never supposed to treat its minorities in the way Jews were treated as oppressed minorities in other countries. One of the main aspirations of many of the founders of modern Israel was to ensure this did not happen. That different behavior is also something urged repeatedly in the Torah: to make sure the non-Jew is treated well, because we know what it feels like to be a mistreated minority.

#9 Yosef. Nobody favors the mistreatment of a minority which seeks to live in peace in Israel. However, this is not the case with most Israeli Arabs. A good analogy for Israeli Arabs are the German minority populations in pre WW II Poland and neighboring nations. These hostile minorities brought incredibly suffering upon the nations which hosted them. The same is true of many Israeli Arabs.

You could,& should, follow the Canadian example.