This moving song was written by Yossi Gispan in the wake of the brutal lynching of two Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian city of Ramallah in 2000, during the first weeks of the Second Intifada. The lyrics, provided onscreen in English and transliterated, express how one may turn to God for help when experiencing the pain, fear and loneliness of loss. The song became an anthem throughout the Second Intifada, capturing the initial shock and grief of the Israeli public following the murder of the two soldiers. An excerpt of the Hebrew lyrics can be seen below. For complete Hebrew lyrics, click here.
שמע ישראל אלוהי עכשיו אני לבד
חזק אותי אלוהי עשה שלא אפחד
הכאב גדול ואין לאן לברוח
עשה שיגמר כי לא נותר בי כוח
Hear O Israel / When the Heart Cries
When the heart cries
only God hears
The pain rises out of the soul
A man falls down before he sinks down
With a little prayer (he) cuts the silence
Shma (Hear) Israel my God,
you’re the omnipotent
You gave me my life,
you gave me everything
In my eyes a tear,
the heart cries quietly
And when the heart is quiet,
the soul screams
Shma (Hear) Israel my God,
now I am alone
Make me strong my God;
make it that I won’t be afraid
The pain is big,
and there’s no where to run away
End it because I can’t take it anymore
(make the end of it because I have no more energy left within me)
When the heart cries,
Time stands still
All of a sudden, the man sees his entire life
He doesn’t want to go to the unknown
He cries to his God right before a big fall