| Leve Palestina | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | George Totari |
| Album: | Earth of My Homeland |
| Released: | 1978 |
"Leve Palestina" is a 1978 protest song by the Swedish-Palestinian musician George Totari and Swedish band Kofia. A popular song at socialist protests since its 1970s release, it has gone viral since the onset of 2023 Israel–Hamas war.
Originating in the 1970s, "Leve Palestina" was created as a protest song by the band Kofia, founded by George Totari, a Swedish-Palestinian musician born in Nazareth who moved to Sweden in 1967. It was released as the last song of the 1978 album Earth of My Homeland,[1] and has subsequently become Kofia's best-known work.
Totari formed Kofia (sv||[[keffiyeh]]) in Gothenburg and wrote the song "Leve Palestina" in response to the limitations on openly criticizing Israel and denial of Palestinian identity in the country at the time. The lyrics of "Leve Palestina" depict the harvesting of wheat and olives in Palestine and the throwing of rocks and firing of rockets at her enemies. The song invokes the socialist struggle against imperialism, calling for the downfall of Zionism and liberation of Palestine.[1]
The song has been regularly chanted at demonstrations in Sweden since it was written in the 1970s,[1] and has been censured by the Swedish authorities. On the International Workers Day in 2019, pro-Palestinian activists sang "Leve Palestina" at a demonstration in Malmö, drawing condemnation by both right-wing press and the ruling Social Democratic Party.[2] The youth wing of the Social Democratic Party was also reported to the police for singing the song, and accused of hate speech. It subsequently agreed not to sing the song.[2] [3]
In the wake of the Israel–Hamas war, invasion of Gaza and Gaza Strip famine, the song has seen a major revival, spreading through platforms like TikTok and Instagram and becoming a rallying anthem at protests for the Palestinian cause across Europe.[4] [5]
The song's viral spread began with a 30-second clip of an October 2023 protest in Stockholm that one Swedish TikToker then set to the music of "Leve Palestina". That video has now been viewed five million times.[6] The song has now been heard at protests from Jakarta to Madrid, and has been translated into languages including English, Hindi and Indonesian.[6]
In the six months since the revival of "Leve Palestina" in October 2023, the song has drawn renewed criticism from the Swedish government.[6] Despite calls from Sweden's ruling party to ban or censor the song, and the direction of the police to disrupt its performance, "Leve Palestina" continues to be sung at Swedish rallies – events where the thousands of attendees have made police action impractical.[4]