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CHILDREN OF WINTER 1973
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We are the children of winter 1973
You dreamt us first at dawn at the end of the battles
You were tired men that thanked their good luck
You were worried young women and you wanted so much to love When you conceived us with love in winter 1973 You wanted to fill up with your bodies that what the war finished And we were born the country was wounded and sad You looked at us you hugged us you were trying to find comfort When we were born the elders blessed with tears in their eyes They said:" we wish those kids will not have to go to the army" And your faces in the old picture prove That you said it form the bottom of your hearts When you promised to do every thing for us To make an enemy into a loved one You promised a dove, an olive tree leaf, you promised peace You promised spring at home and blossoms You promised to fulfill promises, you promised a dove We are the children of winter 1973 We grew up and now in the army with our weapon and helmet on our heads We know how to make love to laugh and cry We are men we are women and we too dream about babies This is why we will not pressure you we will demand of you And we will not threaten you When we were young you said promises need to be kept We will give you strength if that is what you need We will not hold back We just wanted to whisper We are the children of that winter in the year 1973 You promised a dove, an olive tree leaf, you promised peace You promised spring at home and blossoms You promised to fulfill promises, you promised a dove About the song: A very famous Israeli poem, written by Shmuel Hasfari, called ‘The Children of Winter 1973’ describes the
process by which the children who were conceived during the 1973 Yom Kippur War become disillusioned with
the promises of the old generation of a peaceful future with no wars. One line in the poem says: ‘You promised to
do everything for us, to turn an enemy into a loved one’; it remained the echoing unfulfilled promise for the
following generations.
This poem became the pledge taken by one of Israel’s most loved prime ministers, Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by an Israeli citizen fourteen years ago. Rabin, who maintained for most of his public life the image
of a handsome, brave and much admired soldier, decided to abandon the path of hate and dedicated his later
years to keeping the promise‘to turn an enemy into a loved one’.
He used Hasfari’s poem as a source of inspiration, and in times of great grief allowed its words to fill him with the patience, strength and hope necessary to shed off the heavy armour of a warrior and wear the uniform of peace.
26.10.12 - Hon Minister |
09. 2011 - MIN: Please, lend me
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!"