I never thought I would cry at a Maccabeats video, and yet here we are.
These are unprecedented times (or at least, that’s been our refrain for the last three years). So, after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the most famous Jewish a cappella group of all time decided to do something pretty unprecedented themselves. The band, which last month collaborated on a rendition of the prayer for Israel with a capella groups Y-Studs and Six13, put aside an over-decade long tradition of releasing Hanukkah parodies of existing pop tunes. Instead, they’ve released an original song and video that captures all the hopeful and light-filled sentiments we need in this moment.
“We’re Still Here (Am Israel Chai)” was written by the band with Noah Jacobson. It’s an extremely catchy, sugary-sweet pop anthem, filled with messages and images of Jewish resilience. It’s upbeat and triumphant music made to energize us and breathe some life into us all through a time of bleakness.
Aside from containing the constant post-October 7 Hebrew refrain of “Am Yisrael Chai” — the people of Israel live — the group also added another Hebrew sentence: “Am Yisrael adayin kan” — the people of Israel are still here. That refrain repeats itself throughout the entirety of the song as a sort of call and response, a reminder that “through the ages, through the years” and “through the pain and through the tears,” that “we’re still here.” They encourage us to “scream into the shadows” and keep our Jewish flame alive with cries of “Am Yisrael Chai.”
The video incorporates some incredibly moving Israeli moments from the past month and a half, including those of soldiers reuniting with their families, of civilians banding together to pack care packages, and of wedding proposals amid war. There are also the impossibly heart-wrenching shots of hostages reunited with their families. There’s that unforgettable first hug of the Avigdori family, the reunification of Emily Hand and Ohad Munder-Zichri with their fathers and a video of Doron Katz Asher and her two daughters, Raz and Aviv, who were held in Hamas captivity, sitting on an Israeli hospital bed with dad Yoni Asher and squeezing each other tight (that’s where I started to cry).
The Maccabeats have also incorporated images of Jewish survival and solidarity through the decades, from that German image of a menorah in a window sill surrounded by Nazi flags, to the 1933 American Jewish Congress march against Nazism, to the 1987 march for Soviet Jewry in DC. There are also plenty of shots of people gathering for Israel in support of the hostages and against antisemitism across the world today, from London to Paris.
The video also features footage from last month’s Israel March at the Mall in DC, in which The Maccabeats performed along with Israeli Mizrahi music legend Omer Adam and Orthodox Israeli pop star Yishay Ribo. In a video documenting their trip to the march, they called it “the most important concert” they’ve ever performed, and sang “Acheinu” and “One Day” along with Matishyahu. They wrapped up that show by chanting “Am Yisrael Chai.”
In this new video, you can see the crowd of over 200,000 people jumping and singing along with them.
The Maccabeats’ new tune is a much-needed source of light and Jewish joy in the darkness. Every candle we light this Hanukkah will be a reminder that, as the group sings, “we’re still here.”
Lyrics to “We’re Still Here:”
Tapestry of ages, history unfolds
One people the unlikeliest of stories ever told
Tiniest of nations, casting light into the dark.
Empires have risen, empires they fall
They wield their might against us but we move on through it all
A lighthouse in the storm, a candle in the night.
Through the ages and thru the years (we’re still here)
Through the pain and thru the tears (we’re still here)
We’ll persevere well carry on (we’re still here)
Am Yisrael Adayin Kan (we’re still here)
So tonight we scream into the shadows,
So tonight we keep this flame alive.
In this fight we have us and we have hope,
Hear us now, we say, Am Yisrael Chai.
Every heart an ember, every soul a flame
Trying to extinguish it has always been the same
On and on it goes but the fire only grows.
Through the ages and thru the years (we’re still here)
Through the pain and thru the tears (we’re still here)
We’ll persevere well carry on (we’re still here)
Am Yisrael Adayin Kan (we’re still here)
So tonight we scream into the shadows,
So tonight we keep this flame alive.
In this fight we have us and we have hope,
hear us now, we say, Am Yisrael Chai.
We will make it through this night
We say am yisrael, am yisrael chai.
Through the ages and thru the years
Through the pain and thru the tears
We’ll persevere well carry on
Am Yisrael Chai v’Kayam
So tonight we scream into the shadows,
So tonight we keep this flame alive.
In this fight we have us and we have hope,
Hear us now, we say, Am Yisrael Chai.
