Friday, April 9, 2010

Stickers

Talking politics is an Israeli passion. Hard to imagine if you're not aware of its intensity. One of the many avenues to express political and social sentiments is through stickers. The single most famous was unwittingly authored by Bill Clinton the night Rabin was assassinated, when he stood in the WHite House and said to the cameras: Shalom Chaver, goodbye friend. We were surrounded by politicians giving speeches, and Clinton had said it better in two Hebrew words. Hundreds of thousands of us had that sticker on our bumper by the next day.

Besides that one there have been about 48,356 others, and that's just this decade. (I'm speculating).

A few years ago David Grossman, one of our top novelists, compiled a shir made up entirely of such sticker-slogans. Legend has it that he sent his son, Uri, to scour town in serach of unusual stickers. The song came out, if I remember correctly, in 2005; Uri Grosssman was killed in action in Lebanon in August 2006.


Sung by Hadag Nachash (see yesterday), in a clip which itself is part of the text, if you watch carefully.
Words
English translation
A whole generation demands peace,
let the IDF win,
a strong nation makes peace,
let the IDF mow down,

there's no peace with Arabs,
don't give them guns,
combat-ready is the most, bro
draft for all, exemption for all
there's no despair in the world
judea and samaria is here
na nach Nachman from Uman
no fear, the messiah's in town
no arabs, no terror attacks

the supreme court endangers jews
the nation iswith the Golan
the nation is with the transfer
smog test in Yarka
friend, you are missed
the holy one, blessed be he
we elect you
direct elections are bad
the holy one, blessed be he
we are zealots to you
may the zealots/jealous die.

how much evil can be swallowed?
dad have mercy, dad have mercy
my name is Nachman and I stu-stutter
how much evil can be swallowed?
dad have mercy, dad have mercy
blessed be the Name, for I'm breathing, and therefore...

a state of halachah - the state is gone
whoever's born, scored
long live the king messiah
i'm secure in Sharon's peace
Hebron always and for eternity
whoever wasn't born missed out
Hebron of (our) forefathers
goodbye to transfer
Kahane was right

CNN lies
a strong leader's needed
nice going on the peace
thanks for the security
we have no children left for unnecessary wars
the left helps the Arabs
Bibi's good for the Jews
send the Oslo criminals to trail
us here, them there
brothres don't desert (brothers)
uprooting settlements splits the nation
death to the traitors
let the animals live
death to values!

how much evil can be swallowed...
(x3)

To liquidate, to kill, to banish, to mislead
to annihilate, extradite, death sentence, no fear,
to wipe out, to make extinct, to eradicate, to burn.
all because of you, my friend.

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