From the cold atmosphere of Sweden, the song “Long Live Palestine” with its resonant and enthusiastic lyrics ignited the souls of Westerners and united their solidarity in massive marches that roamed the streets of London, Stockholm, and New York during the past days, in rejection of the Israeli war that has been ongoing for about a month in the Gaza Strip.
This song, which rejects the occupation and supports the freedom of the Palestinians and their right to land, and which is woven with Swedish words, was one of the songs performed by the Palestinian poet from the city of Nazareth, George Tutari, 45 years ago, after he left for Sweden during the setback of 1967.
The song was one of the works of the “Kufiya” musical group, which was founded by Tutari to introduce the West to the Palestinian issue and its origins, and which worked on its own expenses for years.
In Sweden, protesters against Israel’s war on Gaza have been chanting this song (Leve Palestina) for several nights, which was composed by a Palestinian band that lived in Sweden. They wrote it in Arabic and Swedish, and the singer who sings it is Swedish. The song has been banned several times, but it is still alive. pic.twitter.com/sYtzkMyiUk
– Amazing facts (@facts444) November 2, 2023
Totari, who was committed to the cause of his homeland and people, when he founded his band in 1972, attracted his university colleagues who were left-wing Swedes who supported the Palestinian cause, and a friend of his from the city of Jerusalem.
Today, more than 4 decades after the production of this song, “Long Live Palestine” in Swedish has transcended the boundaries of time and place, and has become the talk of social media users, and one of the most prominent musical clips that are attached to content supporting Palestine on the “Tik Tok” and “Instagram” platforms.
One of the clips of that song on the TikTok platform received nearly two million views in just one week, and this clip was accompanied by an Arabic translation of the original song.
Some media outlets and platforms also described the song as an “icon” of Western protests in support of Palestine, and a new “international anthem” against Zionism.
“Controversial” song
Tutari, who was born in 1946 and enjoyed freedom in Palestine two years before the Nakba, and then thwarted the setback in 1967. He said in several statements that he sang in Swedish to convey the truth of the Palestinian issue and the Palestinians’ right to this land to an audience that “knew nothing about the Palestinians and Arab embassies that did not “Works for the benefit of the Palestinian cause.”
He pointed out that his keenness to inform the world of the identity and truth of the Palestinian people appeared in the lyrics of the song “Long Live Palestine,” which stated: “We are a people who planted the land… and harvested the wheat… and picked the lemons… and squeezed the olives… the whole world knows our land.”
The song “Long Live Palestine” was released in an album called “Earth of My Homeland” in 1978, which is the second album by the “Kufiya” band, which produced only 4 albums in total, the last of which was in 1988, which was released simultaneously with the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada. The first (1987-1993).
Since then, “Long Live Palestine” has become an anthem sung by young people in Sweden in particular, as an expression of their support for the Palestinian cause, until it once turned into an anti-Semitic song, a charge that was quickly confronted by defenders of workers’ rights and the principles of socialism in Sweden, and Totari himself. .
“Long Live Palestine” sparked controversy in Sweden, when it was sung by youth demonstrators from the Swedish Socialist Party on International Workers’ Day in 2019.
The song was accused of anti-Semitism, because it included the phrase “Down with Zionism,” to the point that the Swedish Parliament held a session to discuss the content of the song, and to ensure that the party and its youth were not extremist.
At that time, Tutari denied that his song was anti-Semitic, in addition to stressing that the song called for urging the world to “get rid of the system of imposing control on others by force of arms,” indicating that through the lyrics of his song he wanted to convey a message to the world that “the Palestinian “The right to his homeland. If the Jews lived there too, we could live together as equals, not like now.”
A struggle without fanfare
Looking at Tutari’s career, we find that he wanted “a struggle without fanfare,” as he described in one of his video interviews, and that he wanted a revolution against the occupation through music.
Tutari wrote more than 50 Swedish and Arabic songs about his hometown of Nazareth, Ramallah, and Deir Yassin. He also embodied in his songs the feelings of a wife whose husband joined armed groups in the song “Artillery and Tanks” or whose son was killed by the practices of the occupation forces.
He also conveyed the words of the refugee Umm Ali, who was living in a state close to famine in the Jordanian camps after the 1948 Nakba, and through his words he encouraged confrontation of the imperialists and Zionists.
With words stemming from a deep Palestinian wound, he wrote songs commemorating the Kafr Qasim massacre (1956), and Tal al-Zaatar (1976), and he also wrote about stones, mountains, and valleys, in a clear longing for the land and homeland.
Although the band stopped producing new albums 35 years ago, Totari still reveals his longing for his homeland and his hope for liberation through words he writes down daily in letters he exchanges among his friends. For him, it is a matter of “love.”
He also makes sure, from time to time, to hold some independent concerts in support of the Palestinian cause, which are organized by members of the Keffiyeh band at their own expenses, and the proceeds of which are directed to support the Palestinian people and institutions concerned with Palestinian relief, including the “Palestinian Red Crescent.”
In all his press and video interviews, Tutari emphasized that all he needed was “respect and appreciation” for the members of the Keffiyeh band, whom he described as “silently struggling with us.”
Tutari is still trying to serve his cause through music, by including a number of young professional musicians among the founding members of Keffiyeh, but recording and releasing more songs requires financial support that he has not yet been able to provide.
In addition to art, the Palestinian artist devotes his time to his grandchildren and supervising an Arabic restaurant, which he opened in Sweden and which one of his sons is managing.
