[2][3][4][5][6] The band, whose formation changed various times over the years, was active in demonstrating against the Vietnam War and South African apartheid during the 1970s.

[3] "Leve Palestina", which Totari wrote as a protest song in response to the limitations on openly criticizing Israel and the denial of Palestinian identity in the country at the time,[2][4][7] was released as the last song of the 1978 album Mitt hemlands jord / أرض بلادي[a] under the title "Demonstrationssången / تحيا فلسطين",[b] and has subsequently become Kofia's best-known work.

[2] On the International Workers Day in 2019, pro-Palestinian activists sang "Leve Palestina" at a demonstration in Malmö, drawing condemnation by both right-wing press and the ruling Social Democratic Party.

[4][10] In the wake of the Israel–Hamas war and the Israeli siege of Gaza, the song has seen a major revival, spreading through platforms like TikTok and Instagram and becoming a rallying anthem at protests for the Palestinian cause across Europe.

[2][9] The song's viral spread began with a 30-second clip of an October 2023 protest in Stockholm that one Swedish TikToker then set to the music of "Leve Palestina".