Israel, could you forget the many years
when time seemed at a stop,
when yellow stars in chambers went
where fires licked them up?

Could you forget the woeful cries
within the deepest nights,
cold prison gates, bones tossed in graves,
heart wrenching smells in sight?

Could you forget the bloodied path
of human atrocities, where hope,
though faint, held a flickering flame,
where men's hearts yearned to be free?

Could you forget the martyrs,
whose silent voices cry?
Could you forget, could you forget,
the ones whom for your freedom had died?

Could you forget your journey
to Israel's welcoming shore
as nation after nation
unto you had closed their doors?

Could you forget the settlers,
Israel's blood, sweat, and tears,
who built, prayed and died there
throughout the many years?

Could you forget the joy you shared,
as you watched each blossoming rose
blooming in dry, desert land
where cool nightly breezes blow?

Could you forget G-d's promises
to you and to your seed?
Could you forget, could you forget
that He holds the master deed?

Could you forget your Patriarches
buried throughout your land,
planted as a constant reminder
That G-d's promises forever will stand?

Could you forget the mothers of Israel,
who on their knees have fought
for the love of their precious children,
as the enemies of Israel still plot?

Could you forget, Oh Israel,
the very blood within your veins?
Your Jewishness, Jerusalem,
G-d's dew, the summer rain?

Could you forget, G-d's promise
that you will be restored?
Could you forget, could you forget?
He awaits you by Jerusalem's door!
~~~~~~

Zion says, "The L-rd has forsaken me,
My L-rd has forgotten me."
Can a woman forget her baby,
Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget,
I never could forget you.
See, I have engraved you
On the palms of My hands,
Your walls are ever before Me.
Swiftly your children are coming;
Those who ravaged and ruined you shall leave you....
As I live -- declares the L-rd--
You shall don them all like jewels,
Deck yourself with them like a bride.
As for your ruins and desolate places
And your land laid waste--
You shall soon be crowded with settlers,
While destroyers stay far from you.
The children you thought you had lost
Shall yet say in your hearing,
"The place is too crowded for me;
Make room for me to settle."
And you will say to yourself,
Who bore these for me
When I was bereaved and barren,
Exiled and disdained--
By whom, then, were these reared?
I was left alone--
And where have these been?"
Isaiah 49:14-21