Just Peace

In the year 1948, Israel declared a state

For the Jewish people it was a case of better late

Than never, after years of tireless endeavour

The Zionist movement, had finally found its buried treasure

And after the horror of the Nazi persecution

It was so good for the Jews to have found a solution

In the future, there’d always be the Right of Return

Now at last there was a country that would never spurn

Exiles, asylum seekers, all refugees

Human beings forced from their homes without a bite to eat

We just wanted to live peacefully, in the Promised Land

It was our dream for so many years, can’t you understand?

But no, we weren’t allowed to have it that way

Because at sunrise on the very next day

We were attacked from all sides by the Arab nations

The tiny new state would have to fight for its liberation

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An exiled people, looking for a home

For so many years, nothing we could do but hope

We been waiting, dreaming, searching, believing

Finally in ’48 we got our redeeming

But since then, we’ve had to be on our toes

Bordered on all sides by powerful foes

For over 50 years looking for a release

Believe that it’s true, we just want peace

Now over the years came war after war

A miracle saved Israel in ’73 on Yom Kippur

And don’t forget ’67, a war for six days

Again victorious, again we were saved

Other battles too, too numerous to name

But at the end of the day see the story was the same

The Arab nations couldn’t take, having the new Jewish state

That was buried in their midst, it consumed them with hate

So they united against the tiny Jewish home

Looking for ways for Israel to be blown

Into oblivion – no hope, no way back

These desires inspired new waves of attack

And each time Israel rested defensive

Except in ’67 but you know that was pre-emptive

And thanks to God’s help the country survived

But for every war too many brave young Israelis died

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Yet as time has gone by the situation has improved

We no longer have to fear our neighbours’ every move

Peace came first with Egypt, and then with Jordan

We began to dream once more, that our borders

Would be serene – no drama, no action

Delight and celebrations – they were our reaction

And then in the year 1994, Rabin and Arafat made historic moves forward

They wanted autonomy, and we wanted peace

We began to negotiate, to try and agree

Things started moving slowly, one step at a time

PLO bombings stopped, they got land, things were fine

Rabin was killed, but the process continued

Yet there still remained some very contentious issues

The right of return and the Temple Mount

Oslo stuttered to a halt, and violence broke out

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So what have we got now? Another intifada

We still want peace but now it’s so much harder

We’ve got suicide bombers killing innocent children

Won’t differentiate a soldier from a civilian

Yet I turn on the news, and what is it I hear?

It’s like an Arab monopoly on living life in fear

The Israelis are portrayed as hard-line oppressors

When all they want is to live a life free of terror

I’m fed up, of hearing this anti-Israel propaganda

It’s time, for somebody to step up and take some action

We need to make it clear to the world population

That Israel really isn’t such a bullying nation

A country built on principles of anti-discrimination

Yet now victimised just because of its creation

I know it’s not perfect, things sometimes go wrong

But believe me when I say all we want is shalom

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