What is the title of Israel’s national anthem, adopted in 2004?

Israel’s national anthem, adopted in 2004, is titled “Hatikvah,” meaning “The Hope.” The song grew from a 19th-century poem by Naftali Herz Imber, whose original text had ten stanzas. Samuel Cohen later adapted the words to a melody based on a tune associated with Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic poem “The Moldau.”

“Hatikvah” became closely connected with the Zionist movement before the State of Israel was established in 1948. It was played at Zionist gatherings and was used as the anthem of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine, although it was not immediately written into Israel’s law as the official anthem.

A common mix-up is confusing the anthem with “Jerusalem of Gold,” a famous Israeli song that is not the national anthem. The official anthem uses only the first stanza and refrain of Imber’s poem, rather than the complete original poem.