Shir BaBoker BaBoker: How a Zionist Folk Song Became a Protest Anthem

This post presents several different versions of an iconic Israeli song, along with with guiding questions that explore its significance in Israeli society. Written as a poem by Amir Gilboa in 1953, the lyrics were put to music by Shlomo Artzi in the 1970s, revived as a protest song during the 2011 social justice protests, and covered by Groovatron, who mixed in recitations from Israel’s Declaration of Independence.The above video (from 02:00) shows Shlomo Artzi performing the song live in Tel Aviv at one of the largest demonstrations in Israel’s history at the peak of the 2011 social justice protests. 

The following video presents Shlomo Artzi performing the song in 1973. To see the English translated and transliterated lyrics, click here. 

The following music video presents Groovatron’s version of the song, mixed with readings from Israel’s Declaration of Independence. The lyrics can be seen in the document below. 

The following video was created by Shirat Machar, the musical group of the Noam Masorti youth movement. 

The following document contains guiding questions about the song from the Masorti Movement in Israel that can be used to teach about the ideological changes that have taken place in Israel since its founding.