Gali Atari video with translation
Israeli Artists singing in background, candid videos of the Israeli street, 3 days after the pogrom
Gali Atari at anti-judicial reform demonstration several months ago
I am Israeli, and my heart is broken.
Israel is a family. We have all been traumatized by the unspeakable terrorist atrocities. Everyone knows someone who was killed or wounded or taken hostage. The entire nation’s heart is broken.
But we shall not only survive, we shall prevail. Because we have no alternative. We have nowhere to run to.
We have no other land.
I have a US passport, but I have no land other than the land of Israel. That’s how all Israelis feel, those who were born here, those who hold dual citizenship, those who came to Israel out of choice and those who came as refugees. Israel is our home. We have no other land.
Like so many Israelis, I was thrown into shock and depression by the unprovoked, bestial murder of 1400 of our brethren. Fourteen days after the attack, hundreds of my parents and siblings and children are still unburied. Two hundred and three members of my family are being held hostage by Hamas, including thirty children. Tens of thousands of my countrymen have lost their homes. October 7 was the worst day of my life.
For a week I could do nothing but stare dumbfounded at the news. Then reality sank in. We have a war to fight. This is not the time to look back with recrimination at our government’s failure or to look down at the ground where our dead lie. Now is the time to look forward, to engage those who have come to murder us, and to destroy them.
Because we have no alternative, and here we shall live. We have no other land.
For the past week, we have been preparing for war. The citizen army is being equipped and training for our military response, to obliterate Hamas and to ensure that our children can live in security anywhere in our little country. The family of Israel is demonstrating a spirit of resilience and volunteerism that leaves no doubt that we shall prevail.
While spending the week driving donations of hot meals and toiletries and flags to soldiers at the front, I realized I had force myself to stop listening to the stories of incomprehensible horror and unfathomable bravery on the news, and to begin listening to music. The time for mourning and for recriminations will come after the war.
Only one song came into my ears, and I’m guessing the same is true for many Israelis.
The words to ‘Ein Li Eretz Aheret’ (‘I Have No Other Land’) were written by the much loved lyricist Ehud Manor in 1982 after his brother was killed in the first Lebanon war, a protest against government policy. Corinne Allal wrote the music, and Gali Atari recorded it in 1986.
Since then ‘Ein Li Eretz Aheret’ has become an anthem for protest movements from both the Right and the Left of the political spectrum, and many versions have been recorded. What they all have in common, in spite of different, even opposing politics, is the bottom line, the expression of our love for Israel. All of us, Right and Left, secular and Orthodox, elite and disenfranchised, share the same sentiment—we are one family with a common destiny.
We have no choice. This is our home.
We have no other land.
| I have no other land Even if my ground is burning Only one word in Hebrew penetrates My veins, my soul With an aching body, a hungry heart Here is my home | אין לי ארץ אחרת גם אם אדמתי בוערת רק מילה בעברית חודרת אל עורקיי, אל נשמתי בגוף כואב, בלב רעב כאן הוא ביתי |
| I will not remain silent because my land Has changed its face I won’t give up on her I’ll remind her And I’ll sing here in her ears Till she opens her eyes | לא אשתוק, כי ארצי שינתה את פניה לא אוותר לה אזכיר לה ואשיר כאן באוזניה עד שתפקח את עיניה |
This is beautiful. thanks for sharing it.
“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis, do nothing.” Dante
Jeff, thank you for what you shared. The reality there is surreal and incomprehensible.
Too many politicians and pundits play politics with the lives of others. Democracy must have a soul. They have none.
Beautiful and so true, Jeff.
Thank you Jeff, for sharing your grief and your courage. Music has always served as a rallying cry. A cry for courage and hope. Thank you for putting this song into my ears and my heart. Thank you for carrying on with music. G-d Bless You.
The video was blocked for copyright reasons. which I hope someone can circumvent. I can’t imagine the pain that you and your fellow Israelis are suffering right now. In the US 9/11 was a pretty crushing blow to Americans but it is nothing close to the magnitude of what was done to your country on 10/7.
Thank you, Jeff, for sharing music and pictures of your homeland!
Am Yisroel Chai
Thanks for taking the trouble to make the video available to everyone, Jeff. It’s a very moving song, made all the more so for this Australian by the fact that we here have almost no need for such songs of defiant patriotism. It brings to mind the incredible contrast between our countries, our day-to-day lives, and the need for us living here, in the safety of distance and an island nation, to understand the way in which Israel was founded, and most importantly, the why.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve enjoyed our reconnecting each time I come here and will carry with our trip to Yam Hamelech with me all the days of my life….`i did not know this song b4fore. One more small gap in my Israeli knowledge filled…..with love
As a daughter of two holocaust survivors,I think and feel that the slaughter,burning,etc…(I chose NOT to watch the videos),ARE,yes,ARE “SHOA”-even worse,because this hell took place in OUR homeland!!!
Dear Jeff, l thank you from the depth of my heart for your strong faith,that with GOD’s help,”we shall overcome”!!!
We,and the entire world will witness miracles