National Anthem Comparison
Israel vs Ukraine
2
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
15
15 years apart
✗
Different continents
Comparison Analysis
Israel (Asia) and Ukraine (Europe) come from different parts of the world, yet both express national identity through song. Israel's "Hatikvah" was written in 1878; Ukraine's "Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished" in 1863.
Both anthems share themes of identity and freedom. Israel additionally explores hope and resilience, while Ukraine also touches on battle / war and ancestors / heritage.
The emotional tones differ: Israel's anthem is hopeful, while Ukraine's is defiant.
Ukraine changed its national anthem in 2003, reflecting a shift in the nation's identity or political landscape.
Shared themes
Israel
🌅 Hope 🏛 Identity 💪 Resilience 🕊 Freedom
Ukraine
🕊 Freedom ⚔ Battle / War 🏛 Identity 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Shared themes:
🏛 Identity 🕊 Freedom
Metadata
| Israel | Ukraine | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1878 | 1863 |
| Adopted | 2004 | 2003 |
| Lyricist | Naftali Herz Imber | Pavlo Chubynsky |
| Composer | Samuel Cohen (based on Moldavian-Romanian folk tune) | Mykhailo Verbytsky |
| Language | he | uk |
| Region | Western Asia | Eastern Europe |
Lyrics Side by Side
Israel
התקווה
Original
כָּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָה
נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה,
וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח קָדִימָה
עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה,
עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ
הַתִּקְוָה בַּת־שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם,
לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ,
אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם.
Translation
As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward, towards the ends of the east,
An eye still gazes toward Zion.
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Ukraine
Ще не вмерла України
Original
Ще не вмерла України і слава, і воля,
Ще нам, браття молодії, усміхнеться доля.
Згинуть наші воріженьки, як роса на сонці.
Запануєм і ми, браття, у своїй сторонці.
Душу й тіло ми положим за нашу свободу,
І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду.
Translation
Ukraine's glory and freedom have not yet perished,
Fate shall smile on us, young brothers, once more.
Our enemies shall vanish, like dew in the morning sun,
And we too, brothers, shall rule in our own land.
We'll lay down our souls and bodies for our freedom,
And show that we, brothers, are of the Cossack nation.
Interesting facts
Israel
- 1. Hatikvah is in a minor key, which is rare among national anthems and gives it an elegiac rather than triumphant tone: it opens in D minor, moves into F major on the words of hope and returns to D minor at the end.
- 2. At the ceremony declaring Israel's independence on 14 May 1948, the guests spontaneously rose to sing Hatikvah; the song became the state anthem by law only in 2004.
- 3. Imber's original poem, 'Tikvatenu' ('Our Hope'), had nine stanzas. The anthem uses only the first stanza and an amended refrain, in which the old hope 'to return to the land of our fathers, the city where David encamped' became the hope 'to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem'.
Ukraine
- 1. Its 'not yet died' opening echoes the Polish anthem, 'Poland Is Not Yet Lost', which scholars believe influenced Chubynsky; the refrain of Israel's Hatikvah, 'Our hope is not yet lost', is often compared to both
- 2. Ukraine marks State Anthem Day on 10 March, the anniversary of an 1865 performance of the song in Przemyśl at a concert commemorating Taras Shevchenko
- 3. The 2003 law reworded the opening line: instead of 'Ukraine has not yet died' (Shche ne vmerla Ukraina), it now says that Ukraine's glory and freedom have not yet died (Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia)
Listen
Israel
Ukraine
