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09/03/2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE In a groundbreaking collaboration, Nazareth-born artist George Totari and renowned musician Adam Gottlieb have joined forces to release an English version of the iconic song, “Leve Palestina” (“Long Live Palestine”). Originally written by Totari in 1975, “Leve Palestina” has served as a powerful anthem for the Palestinian people. Totari, who migrated to Sweden following the 1967 war, used music as a medium to educate the world about the history and plight of his beloved Palestinian people. Now, with the collaboration of Gottlieb, this poignant song will reach a broader audience. The English version aims to amplify the message of peace, unity, and resistance against oppression, resonating with listeners worldwide. Totari and Gottlieb’s collaboration symbolizes the power of music in bridging cultural divides and fostering global solidarity. It stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of the Palestinian people and their ongoing struggle for self-determination and peace. About the collaboration The song Leve Palestina has long been an anthem of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, especially in song writer's, the Palestinian-born George Totarai's country of refuge, Sweden. In November of 2023, it caught the attention of Adam Gottlieb, who found George and asked permission to collaborate on creating an English version. This beautiful collaboration between the two artists spans religion, continents, and generations; A perfect juxtaposition between a Palestinian diaspora and a Jewish Canton. The collaboration led to two versions of Leve Palestina, Long live Palestine, due to the acknowledgment of the threat of sanctions that the more direct language that reflected the original song may draw: Adam applied his artistic interpretation to create Long Live Palestine and also worked closely with George on the Long Live Palestine tribute edition, which is a closer rendition to the original, Swedish version. (The original song, Leve Palestina has faced sanctions and censorship repeatedly.) Going forward we invite even more people to collaborate to give Long Live Palestine wings to be a global anthem for freedom, peace, and an end to the settler colonial project and apartheid: "Let’s make a ship of love that saves all oppressed and discriminated people in the world. It seems, to me, the capitalist oppression and destruction is getting more and more aggressive and does not pay any attention to human life. The song should be our symbol for peace and justice: different languages, different instruments, different colors to save humanity, our children, sisters and brothers."- says Totari About George Totari Totari has been a beacon of Palestinian culture and resistance since he moved to Sweden in 1967, fleeing the Israeli occupation. As a Palestinian Christian, Totari found inspiration in his cherished memories of his hometown of Nazareth, from singing in church to celebrating at parties. These experiences have been channeled into a powerful form of resistance against Israeli oppression. Totari’s song, “Leve Palestina” (“Long Live Palestine”), written in 1975, has become an anthem for the Palestinian people. After migrating to Sweden following the 1967 war, Totari faced anti-Palestinian racism that barred him from university employment. This adversity led him to conclude that music was the most effective medium to educate the world about the history and plight of his beloved Palestinian people. In response, Totari, along with other Palestinian immigrants in Gothenburg and a few Swedish allies, formed the solidarity band Kofia. Despite decades of political censorship and repression, Kofia remains active today, continuing to tell the story of Palestine through music. In Totari’s words, “I started Kofia in order to tell the people the story of my country.” About Adam Gottlieb and Songs for Ceasefire We at Songs for Ceasefire are honored to have worked with George Totari in bringing this English version of the song to the movement to help meet this crucial moment in the history of the Palestinian struggle and the history of the world. We are bearing witness to a genocide unfolding in real time across our screens while the governments of the world appear unable or unwilling to stop it. At the same time, the majority of people around the globe are rising up in solidarity with the people of Palestine, recognizing in their cause a common struggle for freedom and dignity for all humanity. It is a moment when, as Totari wrote in this song nearly 50 years ago, “all the world will come to bear witness.” Songs for Ceasefire is a group of musicians, singers, and cultural workers from many faiths and communities based in Chicago, IL, USA, working for a ceasefire and a free Palestine. Like Kofia, we are a solidarity musical project that grew out of the urgent need to harness the power of music to uplift the movement to stop the genocide of the Palestinian people, end the illegal occupation, and dismantle the Zionist apartheid state. Our core musical collective originally emerged out of the local Jewish coalition of spiritual and political groups united in solidarity with Palestinians to challenge and resist the Israeli State’s apparatus of oppression, as well as the U.S. government’s direct complicity and cooperation in the Zionist colonial project. We came together for the crucial cause of a ceasefire in the weeks after October 7th, 2023, joining together from groups like Tzedek Chicago (an anti-Zionist synagogue), Jewish Voice for Peace, If Not Now, Never Again Action, and others, to put our messages of “Ceasefire Now,” “Not in Our Name,” and “Free Palestine” into music. Our project quickly grew to include Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim singers and musicians as well as musical comrades from virtually every community in the movement, a truly interfaith and intercultural coalition. We offer our version of the song in the same spirit as the original by Kofia: an act of musical solidarity to amplify the long-silenced cry of the people of Palestine for freedom, homeland, and self-determination. We sing this song to interrupt the silence. We sing because our souls demand that we speak loudly and with moral clarity, having heard the cries of the oppressed. We sing for a free Palestine, for freedom for all lands and all peoples. We offer this song to you to learn and to teach, to sing and to share on the streets, on stages, on social media, in your car, in jail cells, in the offices of your elected officials, and wherever the sound of our resistance needs to be heard. May it spread in a wave of joyful resistance to tyranny and fascism in all forms, like poppies across a wild countryside racked from bombs. Thank you for listening, for sharing, and for bringing this energy into every space where silence must be interrupted. Long live Palestine, Abolish Zionism! Credits (Adapted Version) “Leve Palestina”Song by George Totari © 1975Originally recorded by Kofia “Leve Palestina (Long Live Palestine)”English translation by Adam GottliebRecorded and produced by Adam Gottlieb and Songs for Ceasefire Vocals: Adam Gottlieb, Leah Shoshanah, Ethan Aronson, Patrick Baranovskis, Deborah Adelman, Dan Eberhart, jireh l. Drake, Joseph OzmentGuitar: Adam GottliebDarbuka: Kai Movagh Bass: Patrick BaranovskisPercussion: Adam Gottlieb About the Artwork The artwork for the two singles have been produced by the incredibly talented Mouna Kalla-Sacranie, a half-Palestinian, half-Indian mixed-media artist based in London. Mouna's work combines collage, cut-outs, illustration, and lino printing, drawing inspiration from poetry, literature, and her family's Palestinian heritage. Mouna has a professional background in fundraising and communications and continues to work in this field alongside her artistic practice. Contact: @mks_prints // mouna.prints@gmail.com

Palestine Songs

Let music and songs energise the global Palestine solidarity movement.
Let us celebrate the rich culture of Palestine and stand up to genocide through singing and dancing.

Leve Palestina, Kofia

Long Live Palestine

Long Live Palestine (tribute version)

News

Biographies

Past and Present

News

Palestine Songs

Let music and songs energise the global Palestine solidarity movement. Let us celebrate the rich culture of Palestine and stand up to genocide through singing and dancing.

Leve Palestina, Kofia

Long Live Palestine

Long Live Palestine (tribute version)

News

Biographies

Past and Present

News

Let music and songs energise the global Palestine solidarity movement.
Let us celebrate the rich culture of Palestine and stand up to genocide through singing and dancing.