Pro-Israel activist addresses lack of knowledge of Zionist history among Israelis

Toronto native Yehudit Shier Weisberg, a passionate pro-Israel activist, recently wrote a poem – in two versions, English and Hebrew – that has been set to music and informs about little-known but extremely significant details concerning Zionist history and Israel’s legal rights.

It started as a poem titled “I Woke Up One Day,” which she wrote before October 7, 2023. “I was involved in pro-Israel activism in Toronto and with the Legal Forum for Israel. Then I heard Jacques Gauthier [an international law expert] speak about the San Remo Conference, and I was shocked because I thought I knew our history,” she recalled.

At the San Remo Conference (April 19-26, 1920), which determined the precise boundaries for territories captured by the Allies – Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, known as the four Principal Allied Powers of World War I – they agreed to create a Jewish national home in what is now the Land of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The conference laid the foundation for the creation of the 22 Arab League states and the Jewish state.

At San Remo, Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, who later became the first president of the State of Israel, declared: “This is the most momentous political event in the history of our movement and in the history of our people since our exile from our homeland” 2,000 years ago.

Gauthier, a non-Jewish, French-Canadian attorney, frequently lectures on international law regarding Israeli sovereignty, the subject of his doctoral thesis. He, too, laments that Israelis are not as educated as they should be about their rights to the Land of Israel, including eastern Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, and that very few have ever heard of the San Remo Conference. Indeed, this writer had a long conversation with Gauthier several years ago, during which he elaborated on his conviction that there is no “occupied Palestinian land.”

YEHUDIT HAILS from a staunchly Zionist family and attended a Jewish day school. Fluent in Hebrew, she lived in Haifa for eight years, studying at the University of Haifa and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Eventually, she returned to Toronto, where she studied music history and Jewish education – and became a professional ventriloquist storyteller to boot. In 2017, she made aliyah with her husband, Aryeh Weisberg, a native kibbutznik, and her son Yaron.

The meaning behind the song

“I Woke Up One Day” is the latest among her numerous educational initiatives. Her educational activism has included speaking at synagogues, organizations, and private homes in the greater Toronto area. Describing one event, she said, “I delivered a talk to a group of Israeli expats in Toronto. What struck me is that none of them had heard of the San Remo Conference. They were flabbergasted.”

That’s when she realized that Israelis had to be educated about Israel’s history, and why she decided to write the poem in Hebrew in addition to an English version.

“I met a woman in the US who spoke to me about ‘woke ideology,’ and that was when the first sentence of the poem came to me – ‘I woke up one morning to the truth I’ve not been told’ – intentionally using the word ‘woke,’” she said.After writing the poem, “I thought about how to get people engaged, especially students,” she continued. “Several months later, I wrote a Hebrew version and eventually decided that it had to be set to music and performed.

Eventually, I’d like it to be made into a music video – in both languages. That way, it will gain more exposure among youth.

“The song starts off about a small ancient people, with no mention of the Jewish people. This way, people would be drawn to the history of this people, the occupation of their land, and their longing to return. Only near the end of the song does it mention that this people is the Jewish people. I thought this could be a draw, especially in the English version, which specifically mentions the word ‘indigenous.’

“I had two intentions in writing this song,” she said. “First, to educate Jews and non-Jews who don’t know our history; and second, to strengthen Jews when defending Israel.”

Yehudit was determined to get the poems set to music. For the Hebrew version, she contacted Nachi Eyal, formerly of the Legal Forum for Israel, who put her in touch with musician Aharon Menahem. “He wrote the music, sang, played the guitar, and recorded it with other musicians,” she said.

“But I still really wanted a musical version of the English poem. There’s a listserv for Anglophone olim, and I asked if anyone knew someone who could set a poem about Jewish history to music. That was how I got in touch with Resheet Pollack, a talented 16-year-old from the southern Golan, and she came up with something brilliant.”

Recalled Resheet: “Yehudit sent me the beautiful lyrics for the song, and I was really inspired by the deep message that it conveyed. I think the song is catchy and pretty, and I’m sure it would have a lot of impact and that a lot of people would love to listen to it.”

Yehudit is no stranger to creativity. While living in Toronto, she and Aryeh founded and managed the Teatron Toronto Jewish Theater and directed dozens of plays.

After moving to Jerusalem, the couple founded the Theatre Zion. Their first production, The Trial of Uncle Charlie: What Really Happened on Board the Exodus 1947 – written by Yehudit and directed by Aryeh – was performed at the Khan Theater. The next play, which will be the fifth play directed by Aryeh in Jerusalem, is The Accomplices by Bernard Weintraub, and will be performed at the Khan Theater in February.

WITH THE surge in antisemitism since Oct. 7, how optimistic is Yehudit that her song could make a difference?“It won’t make a dent among the anti-Israel crowd,” she replied. “I’m hoping to reach the people who don’t know much about the conflict. There are a lot of young people interviewed at demonstrations who haven’t a clue about what they’re demonstrating for or against.

“Because the song doesn’t mention Israel at the very beginning, I’m hoping they’ll be open to listening and learning about this indigenous people.”