Yoseph Haddad, a Knesset candidate for the Amcha Yisrael party, responded to remarks by right-wing influencer Michael Wilansky on Channel 14, who claimed that Haddad wants to change the lyrics of Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva."
In a response posted to his account on X, Haddad clarified that he is not seeking to change the anthem. He said that when he personally sings “Hatikva," he replaces the word “Jewish" with “Israeli" - a personal choice that allows him to express his sense of belonging to the country.
Haddad attached to the post a clip from an interview he gave to Ben Ben Baruch’s podcast, in which he explained his position and emphasized the distinction between the way he chooses to sing the anthem and a call to officially change its lyrics.
In the caption accompanying the post, Haddad clarified that he has no problem accepting criticism of his positions, but objects to statements being attributed to him that he says are untrue.
Haddad thus sought to make his position clear: while he does change one word when he personally sings “Hatikva," he is neither proposing nor seeking to change the official wording of Israel’s national anthem.