Just two months ago, Natalie Schneider was singing a little song to her two-year-old son as she was getting him settled for playtime after bringing him home from nursery school in a small Negev city.
“Red Alert, Red Alert,” she sang in Hebrew. “My heart is beating, Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom! My body is shaking, Doom Doom Doom Doom Doom!”
Horrified, her son’s grandmother from America ordered her to stop immediately. “How could you?” she demanded. “What on earth are you doing?? What kind of song are you teaching him?”
With a smile that did not quite reach her eyes, the young woman explained to her mother, “All the day care centers and kindergartens are teaching this song to the children. Everyone is learning it.
“This is how we make sure the little ones don’t panic when they hear the rocket alert sirens when they start firing the missiles from Gaza,” she added in a matter-of-fact voice. “It reduces their fear. All of the children are memorizing this song and they all learn how to hide under their desks and to march to their bomb shelters along with it.”
“Tzeva Adom, Tzeva Adom (Red Alert, Red Alert) Hurry hurry hurry, to a safe area… Hurry, hurry, ‘cause now it’s a bit dangerous “My heart is beating, Boom boom boom, boom boom “My body is shaking Doom, doom, doom, doom, doom “But I am overcoming ‘Cause I am a little different Falling down – Boom We may now stand up “Our body we Shake Shake Shake Shake Shake Our legs we Loosen Loosen Loosen Loosen Loosen Breathe in deep, Breathe out far Breathe in deep, We can laugh It’s all gone … and I feel good it’s over. YESSSS!” Nearly seven years ago, a kindergarten teacher wanted to do something to help the children in her class deal with the ongoing air raid sirens and rocket attacks against Israel.
More than 145,630 views later, this YouTube video shows a class of small children still singing that song, with English language subtitles for viewers who don’t know Hebrew.
Another generation of Israeli children is being forced to learn how to cope with the trauma of terror attacks from Gaza…