Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Tzfat, has issued a sharp warning against cooperating with the Joint List after reports that activists at the party’s headquarters sang the Palestinian nationalist song “Biladi, Biladi."
Rabbi Eliyahu said the song is associated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and contains messages encouraging violence against Israel. He called for those who sang it to face prosecution and warned against allowing the Joint List to participate in the next government.
The rabbi stressed that the song in question was not the well-known Egyptian national anthem, which begins with similar words, but a different song associated with the PLO. Rabbi Eliyahu included a Hebrew translation of the lyrics in his statement. According to the translation he presented, the song refers to explosives, armed struggle, and destruction and death for Israel.
He argued that the lyrics express aspirations to harm the State of Israel and its citizens, and called for legal action against those who praise such acts.
The statement comes amid political debate over the composition of the next Israeli government and the possibility of the Joint List participating in the governing coalition. Rabbi Eliyahu firmly opposed such cooperation: "They must certainly not be allowed to govern or have any part in the government."