And on that topic: In Yad V’shem, when you come to the end of the tunnel, there is a room about the immigration to Israel. In that room, they play Hatikva being sung by kids in pre-war Europe. You will notice a couple of differences in the words, which I find a bit telling. (I have on idea as to the origins of the two versions, or which one predates which.)
It goes:
??? ?? ???? ???????
????? ??????
???? ???? ???????
???? ????, ??? ?? ???
Notice the three changes which are one. This other version is referring to a desire to return to Israel, to our ancestral homeland where King David established his kingdom. The desire is to live there as a people.
The currently used version is:
??? ?? ???? ???????
????? ???? ?????
????? ?? ???? ???????
???? ???? ???????
See, the focus of the desire here is to be an independent nation. It is a nationalistic desire.
I happen to find the hatikva very emotional, but I related much more to the desire for eretz yisroel than for the desire for independent rule. (Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of desire for independence, it is just not nearly as strong as my desire for eretz yisroel.)