Probably not going to hear this one in the bars on Broadway.
“Sweet Home Alabama” is obviously one of the signature songs for (in my opinion) the greatest southern rock band of all time, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Released in 1973 on the band’s sophomore album Second Helping, the song was written in response to Neil Young’s songs “Southern Man” and “Alabama,” which Skynyrd felt blamed the entire south for slavery. Despite none of the band members being from Alabama (Skynyrd was formed in Jacksonville, Florida), the song became the band’s biggest hit and remains a classic and one of their most recognizable songs to this day.
But recently, the song was repurposed to celebrate this week’s historic peace deal in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump was in Israel and Egypt yesterday to celebrate the deal between Israel and Hamas, which resulted in the release of all remaining hostages being held by Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces within the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire officially went into effect on Friday, October 10, and on Saturday the United States Ambassador to Israel, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, attended the annual United Hatzalah’s Sukkot concert in Jerusalem to celebrate the historic day.
And during the event, Huckabee even took the stage to perform himself.
The ambassador is a longtime bass player, and has even had his own amateur rock band called Capitol Offense. While serving as the host of his former show on Fox News, Huckabee served as the bassist for the house band, the Little Rockers, whose name served as a tribute to his home state.
Well on Saturday, Huckabee dusted off his bass once again and joined with former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on guitar and actor and comedian Elon Gold on vocals for a performance of “Sweet Home Yerushalayim,” a remixed version of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic that pays tribute to Israel and the historic peace deal. (“Yerushalayim” is Hebrew for “Jerusalem.”)
“Torah scrolls keep on turning
Just two days and we are through
Then we start from the beginning
Hashem’s holy words begin anew
We all have come to help Hatzalah
And we wanna help it thrive
Based right here in God’s holy city
Throughout this land it’s saving lives
Sweet Home Yerushalayim
Where God’s words ring so true
Sweet home Yerushalayim
Lord, I’m coming home to you
Well France and friends don’t think it’s Jewish
The United Nations call us crooks
But Donald Trump claims it’s all Israel
Just as it says in all the holy books”
Speaking on the peace deal during a Fox Business interview, Huckabee gave credit to President Trump for securing the ceasefire and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages:
“Let’s give all the credit to President Trump. This would have never happened had he not been in the White House and had he not had the ability to engineer this deal.”
And while he also cautioned that long-term peace would still take time, he’s hopeful that the world is now positioned for something that was once thought impossible:
“It’s a long-term issue that’s not going to be resolved easily. But the President has positioned things to be historic. There’s a real possibility that in the next few months, we’re going to see normalization with countries like Syria and Lebanon — something no one thought possible. This could bring real peace to the Middle East and a complete realignment that will impact the world,”
