Name/Title
Palestine Recording Co, Ltd. Album Set (1947)Entry/Object ID
2025.10.22a-bDescription
These two 12-inch phonograph records, Horrah (Palestinian Dance) and Hatikvah, were recorded by the Palestine Recording Co., Ltd. in 1947 and processed in the United States by Pal-Am Record Co. Both records retain their original printed brown sleeves, featuring bilingual English and Hebrew text. The labels describe the music as “authentic Palestine music” and reference a range of Hebrew choral and orchestral works performed by Chana Zamir, the Tel Aviv Opera Chorus, Sharon Chorus, and Cantor Joshua Dlin.
Prominently advertised on the sleeves is Chag Yovel Bakibbutz (“A Celebration in a Kibbutz”), a musical performance narrating daily life in a kibbutz through song, instrumental music, and dialogue. The listed works include Hatikvah (later adopted as the Israeli national anthem), Horrah, Shir HaEmek (Song of the Emek), Techzaknah, and Ov Horachamim. Each is performed in Hebrew, arranged and conducted by composers and musical directors associated with the Yishuv’s cultural institutions.
These records were produced in September 1947—weeks before the UN Partition Plan and months before the establishment of Israel. During this period, Jewish cultural institutions in Mandatory Palestine frequently used the name “Palestine” in their organizational titles and cultural branding. This practice reflected the geopolitical reality of the mandate while also advancing a Zionist cultural narrative that positioned Hebrew pioneer culture as the authentic expression of “Palestine.”
The repertoire presented here is emblematic of Zionist nation-building efforts. Horah dances, kibbutz songs, and Hebrew choral music were central to constructing a new cultural identity that celebrated agricultural labor, collectivism, and territorial rootedness. While the term “Palestinian” appears on the record label, it refers not to Palestinian music but to Yishuv cultural production—effectively claiming the name of the land while excluding the existing Palestinian musical landscape.
These records illustrate how cultural production was mobilized as part of the Zionist project, using music, language, and imagery to naturalize Jewish settlement in Palestine. By exporting “Palestinian” Hebrew music to American audiences, Palestine Recording Co. participated in shaping international perceptions of cultural ownership and identity in the region.
This material stands as a document of cultural appropriation and erasure, revealing how Palestinian identity was overwritten through settler cultural narratives even before 1948. It also reflects the sophisticated infrastructure of the Yishuv’s musical institutions on the eve of statehood.Collection
Permanent CollectionRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Gift of Donna FooteNotes
From Olmsted Falls Ohio, 44138, donated on October 22, 2025.
