BS”D
I cannot believe that I write so unclearly as to suggest that a knitted kippa wearer is assumed to be not religious right off the bat. Everyone knows that this is not the case. I am only saying that there are many in EY who do not have chezkas kashrus and that some wear what can be mistaken as a religious symbol. I could tell you in a moment who is real and who isn’t.
Anyone who can read can easily find out about the recent great failures of Religious Zionism, the first being the Yigal Amir debacle and the second being Gush Katif. The first led the left wing of RZ to become “kippot zerukot” and the second cemented the rise of the “chardal” faction, who are basically charedim of different dress who remain in their old world for social reasons and really follow a sort of Chassidus/Kabbalah based hashkafah. Their rebellion against the failures of the state is to go to the hilltops and resist state attempts to throw them out of their homes.
They reject Hatikva, and their song is mine as well.
It is Hashem Hu Malkeinu, to which I wake up every morning. Our version is sung not by the clowns who call themselves NK today, but by former paratrooper Meir Ariel, who is now close to the Chabad activists that are involved with the hilltop youth and Chevron.
The difference is that I would be just as happy to hear it in Hungarian pronunciation by a legitimate performer, whereas they might have a bit of trouble understanding such an arrangement. Oh, wait, I did hear it that way on a mainstream dance album, one more indication of which way the wind is blowing.