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Taylor Swift Songs Inspire New Hanukkah Track From Jewish Acappella Group Six13
Taylor Swift attends a premiere for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in Los Angeles, California, US, Oct. 11, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Six13, an acappella group that makes Jewish-themed parodies of popular songs, released a Taylor Swift-inspired Hanukkah medley this year ahead of the Jewish holiday beginning Thursday night.
The song is titled Era-lution of Taylor Swift (Chanukah’s version), which is a nod to Swift’s Eras Tour — her ongoing concert tour that takes fans through the different musical eras of her almost two decade-long career. The tour is the second highest-grossing musical tour of all time.
Six13’s new song pulls music from 14 of Swift’s hit songs, including Love Story, I Knew You Were Trouble, Bad Blood, Shake It Off, Blank Space, and Anti-Hero. In their original lyrics, the six-man group sings about the story of Hanukkah, eating latkes, spinning a dreidel, and Jewish pride.
“We’ll never back down/We’re Jewish and proud/And I’m just like…/We’ll never be stopped/So like it or not, we’re sticking around,” Six13 sings to the tune of Swift’s song You Need to Calm Down. Later on, to the tune of Look What You Made Me Do, they sing: “I’m proud to be a Jew/Our pride is strong and true/I’m so proud to be a Jew.”
Swift dominated the pop culture arena in 2023. She was the most streamed artist in the world on Spotify with more than 26.1 billion streams, and the 33-year-old in July became the first female artist to have four albums on Billboard’s top 10 list at the same time.
Her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), a re-recording of her third album Speak Now, became her 12th album to top the Billboard 200 chart, and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), a re-recording of her fifth album 1989, became her sixth album to sell over 1 million copies in its first week. She was also named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2023 and a movie version of her Eras Tour racked up $250 million in ticket sales. Forbes magazine this week also named Swift the world’s fifth most powerful woman.
Past songs released by Six13 include Bohemian Chanukah, a parody of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Star Wars Chanukah, as well as tributes to Billy Joel songs, West Side Story, and the Disney film Frozen.
Watch the music video for Era-lution of Taylor Swift (Chanukah’s version) below.
The post Taylor Swift Songs Inspire New Hanukkah Track From Jewish Acappella Group Six13 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.