The words to Israel's national anthem were written in 1886 by Naphtali Herz Imber, an English poet originally from Bohemia. The melody was written by Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia. Cohen actually based the melody on a musical theme found in Bedrich Smetanas "Moldau."
As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Kol ode balevav
Nefesh Yehudi homiyah
Ulfa'atey mizrach kadimah
Ode lo avdah tikvatenu
L'hiyot am chofshi b'artzenu -