A quick note regarding yesterday’s post, which included a Google-translated Facebook post by our podcast guest, Professor Moshe Koppel. Google-translate, quite obviously, does not have the command of the English language that Professor Koppel does, and the translation was characteristically Google-translate-ish.
But we neglected to note that the language in the screenshot we posted was not his, as his post was originally in Hebrew, but that of Google.
Apologies for the oversight.
Israel has had a national “Day of Appreciation for IDF Wounded” for a number of years, but it’s never gotten much traction. Until this year—since 18,000 soldiers have been wounded in this war.
A group of women, the wives and partners of these soldiers, created a Forum for the Wives of Wounded Soldiers (the link is to their Facebook page — you can use Google Translate to read parts of it).
As part of their marking the day, yesterday, the Forum put out the video which appears at the top of this post, which we’ve subtitled and are sharing.
The subtitles translate both the voice of the narrator as well as the song that plays in the background.
The video, with the photos of the wounded men, their wives and their children conveys a small sliver of the trauma of a nation in which there are 18,000 such people, some wounded even more grievously.
The song that plays in the background is “To Hold on Tight,” a song written by Israeli songwriter, Akiva Turgeman, during the war—and that has captured the hearts and souls of many Israelis.
The official video for the song is below—the fact that in a tiny country like this, it has millions of views say something about how deeply his song and words touched people here.
And that, in turn, speaks volumes about what people here are feeling …
If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.
The video for the song is above, while the lyrics are translated below.
Here’s the background to the song provided online (Google translated):
The singer and songwriter Akiva Turgeman releases a new single in response to the situation and period of the 'Iron Swords' war - "Hold on Tight".
Since that Saturday, Akiva has been enlisted on the northern border. On the bed in the shelled outpost on Mount Dov, he took a guitar and played "Hold on Tight" to himself. Suddenly, every word in the song took on a new meaning, as if crying out that the song must be released.
During a few days of R&R at home, he spontaneously entered the studio with musician and creator Stav Beger, and the song received its moving production and color, adding a scorched dimension to Akiva's singing that testifies to the period.
“To Hold on Tight,” by Akiva Turgeman
And now when everything slips through my fingers
And now when every dream that comes is a nightmare
I know this is a struggle
To be or not to be
And now when there's a black flag on my shore
Such a storm of emotion, I can't see light anymore
Even if everything around is still broken
Inside I know this will pass
Hold on tight
Until the anger passes
Until the taste returns
Don't despair from falling
Get up and start anew
Hold on tight
Until the sea splits
I'm not giving up this time
Because what was, was, the main thing is to start over
I believe in the end this darkness will turn to light
A small boat in stormy waters will find its shore
I close my eyes and hold on tight
Until it passes
Because I know that you're still with me
I'm not alone here, not alone here
Hold on tight
Until the anger passes
Until the taste returns
Don't despair from falling
Get up and start anew
Hold on tight
Until the sea splits
I'm not giving up this time
Because what was, was, the main thing is to start over
Because I know in the coldest nights I'm not alone here
And even if waves are still breaking around me, I'm staying here, I'm staying here.
