A violence-themed musical broadcast on Palestinian Authority (PA) television called to fight Israelis “everywhere” with “blood and stones,” as Palestinian violence continues to escalate during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Appearing on PA TV, the musical titled “The Journey of a Nation” depicts the “struggle” of the Palestinians over nearly a century, apparently from decades before even the establishment of the State of Israel.
Performed in the Gaza Strip, the musical featured young men in military outfits carrying mock weapons, dancing and singing about combating the “enemy” through the use of machine guns, RPGs, daggers, rifles, and bombs, throughout the Jewish state.
The men are later joined by a group of children who dance alongside them.
Lyrics include:
“The blood of the martyrs will light our way.”
“We have outlined our principles with the Degtyaryov machine gun and the RPG.”
“We are accustomed to death and sacrifice.”
“Our revolution is in every village and every city.”
It concludes:
In the name of Allah, we are challenging [the enemy] with our free people and with stones; our young people are rebelling; our lands will be regained and our shame will be washed away only with blood and stones. Rise up, rise up, rise up, hey, hey hey!
The performance was organized by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) refugee affairs department.
In response to the viral clip, many found the clip to be a more accurate representation of Palestinian aspirations than what is often depicted in Western media.
“The induced culture of death continues to thrive and literally explode on social media,” tweeted the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
“When we talk about young Palestinians who die as ‘martyrs,’ we are also talking about the influential media that fosters their state of mind,” tweeted media watchdog group Honest Reporting. “Palestinian media is full of content like this that glorifies hatred and terrorism, and Palestinian children are victims of it.”
“Our ‘peace partners’ in the PA,” mocked Middle East Correspondent Josh Hasten. “Remember the PA is supposed to be fighting terrorism, but instead they incite and encourage terrorism against Israel.”
Less than two weeks following the musical’s airing, a suspected car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv left one man dead and seven others injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called attention to the subsequent Palestinian celebrations.
“Palestinians celebrate the murder of Italian citizen Alessandro Parini. Let it sink in. Share the truth,” he tweeted.
Hours earlier, two British-Israeli sisters were shot dead at the hands of Islamic extremists. Their mother, who was also injured during the shooting, died days later.
In addition to a wave of cyberattacks against Israeli institutions and infrastructure, Israel has also been hit by rocket attacks over the last week from Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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