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Sabra (person)
Encyclopedia
Sabra is a term used to describe a Jew
born in Israel
i territory; the term is also usually inclusive of Jews born during the period of the establishment of the state of Israel. The word "sabra" is Arabic and Hebrew. Immigrants to Palestine began using it in the early 1930s, according to the The Dictionary of Slang (Hebrew) written by Israeli Rubik Rozental. The allusion is to a tenacious, thorny desert plant with a thick hide that conceals a sweet, softer interior, suggesting that even though the Israeli Sabra are rough and masculine
on the outside, they are delicate and sensitive on the inside. In the United States, this cactus variety is known as the Prickly Pear. In 2010 over 4,000,000 Israeli Jews (70%) were Sabras, with an even greater percentage of Israeli Jewish youths falling into this category.
, and was stereotypically bourgeois, the "New Jew" was stereotypically a kibbutz
member (or a farmer in a Moshav
). "The old Jew" spoke European languages or Hebrew with a heavy accent, while the Sabra spoke the Hebrew language as a mother tongue. Unlike the "Old Jew" who did not fight for his self-defense, the Sabra fought in the Jewish resistance movements, in the Palmach
and after the establishment of Israel in the IDF
.
The sociological characteristics of the sabra were examined by Oz Almog
in his book The Sabra - The Creation of the New Jew. According to Almog the term "Tzabar" originated from the insult "Sabras" directed towards migrants of the First Aliyah
(which consisted of the first generation of native born members of the Zionist movement) by migrants of the Second Aliyah
and the Third Aliyah
. The changing of the meaning of the term, to emphasize the softer interior rather than the roughness, was done by the journalist Uri Kesari who published an essay, "We Are the Leaves of the Sabra!", on 18 April 1931 in the newspaper Doar HaYom in which he argued against the discrimination which was cast against the native-born by the new immigrants.
of the Sabra person increased during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and especially after it ended. The Israeli public, and especially the older generation, tended to attribute the achievements of the war to the country's "sabras", while minimizing the part of the new immigrants and other groups. Even descriptions of the achievements of Operation Kadesh (1956) emphasized the image of the Sabra. The large immigration to Israel of Jews from Islamic countries
during the 1950s, the penetration of Western culture and primarily the American culture, as well as the social and political changes which were created following the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
, resulted in a decline of the use of the term after the 1970s and even to pikfok in heroic myths which were attributed to the Sabra term.
In relation, those who were born in the country after independence in 1948 became known as the "Dor haMedina" , or "Statehood Generation", and have been largely described by cultural commentators as being motivated less by the strident nationalism and/or socialism of the pre-independence settler generations and more by a general cultural pragmatism and sensitivity to the mass-cultural output of Western powers.
The Sabra received an artistic and symbolic representation in the form of the illustrated character "Srulik
" (which wears shorts
, sandals and a Tembel hat
), created by cartoonist Dosh. Another character which become famous was that of the Israeli children's TV program "Kishkashta
" which was a speaking cactus.
The English form of the word, Sabra, served Israeli manufacturers who wanted to brand their products as typical Israeli products, which was sold in the foreign markets. As a result, "Sabra liqueur
" and "Sabra sport" (the sports model of the "Sussita
") were created. The world's largest hummus manufacturer (as of 2009) is a U.S. company called the Sabra Dipping Company
.
, who served as acting prime minister from February to March 1969; he was born in Kfar Tavor
. The first sabra to serve as Prime Minister rather than acting Prime Minister was Yitzhak Rabin
, who first held the office 1974-77, and then again 1992-1995. Since Rabin first took office, there have been four other sabra Prime Ministers: the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu
, is the first and (so far) only sabra Prime Minister to have been born in the modern state since Israel's declaration of independence in 1948; he first took office in 1996, before leaving office in 1999 and returning in 2009. Furthermore, Ehud Barak
, Ariel Sharon
, and Ehud Olmert
were all born in what is now the territory of the State of Israel during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine
.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
born in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i territory; the term is also usually inclusive of Jews born during the period of the establishment of the state of Israel. The word "sabra" is Arabic and Hebrew. Immigrants to Palestine began using it in the early 1930s, according to the The Dictionary of Slang (Hebrew) written by Israeli Rubik Rozental. The allusion is to a tenacious, thorny desert plant with a thick hide that conceals a sweet, softer interior, suggesting that even though the Israeli Sabra are rough and masculine
Masculine
Masculine or masculinity, normally refer to qualities positively associated with men.Masculine may also refer to:*Masculine , a grammatical gender*Masculine cadence, a final chord occurring on a strong beat in music...
on the outside, they are delicate and sensitive on the inside. In the United States, this cactus variety is known as the Prickly Pear. In 2010 over 4,000,000 Israeli Jews (70%) were Sabras, with an even greater percentage of Israeli Jewish youths falling into this category.
History
The term was used a lot politically by the Zionist movement, to celebrate the "New Jew" which the movement created. Unlike the "old Jew" who was born in exileJewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
, and was stereotypically bourgeois, the "New Jew" was stereotypically a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
member (or a farmer in a Moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
). "The old Jew" spoke European languages or Hebrew with a heavy accent, while the Sabra spoke the Hebrew language as a mother tongue. Unlike the "Old Jew" who did not fight for his self-defense, the Sabra fought in the Jewish resistance movements, in the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
and after the establishment of Israel in the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
.
The sociological characteristics of the sabra were examined by Oz Almog
Oz Almog
Oz Almog, an Israeli–Austrian artist was born on April 15, 1956, in Kfar Saba, Israel. He comes from a family of Russian/Ukrainian pioneers and Romanian/Russian immigrants...
in his book The Sabra - The Creation of the New Jew. According to Almog the term "Tzabar" originated from the insult "Sabras" directed towards migrants of the First Aliyah
First Aliyah
The First Aliyah was the first modern widespread wave of Zionist aliyah. Jews who migrated to Palestine in this wave came mostly from Eastern Europe and from Yemen. This wave of aliyah began in 1881–82 and lasted until 1903. An estimated 25,000–35,000 Jews immigrated to Ottoman Syria during the...
(which consisted of the first generation of native born members of the Zionist movement) by migrants of the Second Aliyah
Second Aliyah
The Second Aliyah was an important and highly influential aliyah that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 40,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman Palestine, mostly from the Russian Empire, some from Yemen....
and the Third Aliyah
Third Aliyah
The third Aliyah refers to the third wave of the Jewish immigration to Israel from Europe who came inspired by Zionist motives between the years 1919 and 1923 . A symbol of the start of the third immigration wave is the arrival of the boat "Roselan" in the Jaffa Port on December 19, 1919...
. The changing of the meaning of the term, to emphasize the softer interior rather than the roughness, was done by the journalist Uri Kesari who published an essay, "We Are the Leaves of the Sabra!", on 18 April 1931 in the newspaper Doar HaYom in which he argued against the discrimination which was cast against the native-born by the new immigrants.
Independence and afterward
The prestigePrestige (sociology)
Prestige is a word commonly used to describe reputation or esteem, though it has three somewhat related meanings that, to some degree, may be contradictory. Which meaning applies depends on the historical context and the person using the word....
of the Sabra person increased during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and especially after it ended. The Israeli public, and especially the older generation, tended to attribute the achievements of the war to the country's "sabras", while minimizing the part of the new immigrants and other groups. Even descriptions of the achievements of Operation Kadesh (1956) emphasized the image of the Sabra. The large immigration to Israel of Jews from Islamic countries
Jewish exodus from Arab lands
The Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries was a mass departure, flight and expulsion of Jews, primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from Arab and Muslim countries, from 1948 until the early 1970s...
during the 1950s, the penetration of Western culture and primarily the American culture, as well as the social and political changes which were created following the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, resulted in a decline of the use of the term after the 1970s and even to pikfok in heroic myths which were attributed to the Sabra term.
In relation, those who were born in the country after independence in 1948 became known as the "Dor haMedina" , or "Statehood Generation", and have been largely described by cultural commentators as being motivated less by the strident nationalism and/or socialism of the pre-independence settler generations and more by a general cultural pragmatism and sensitivity to the mass-cultural output of Western powers.
In culture
Srulik
Srulik is an illustrated character who symbolized Israel. The character was first drawn in 1956 by the cartoonist Kariel Gardosh, known by his pen name Dosh, a Holocaust survivor who made Aliyah to Israel from Hungary, and appeared for many years in cartoons that were published in the newspaper...
" (which wears shorts
Shorts
Shorts are a bifurcated garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to or even below the knee, but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened...
, sandals and a Tembel hat
Tembel hat
A tembel hat is a hat which is an Israeli national symbol. Unlike the bucket hat, used as a heavy duty hat by the Israeli military, it has no loose edge for shadowing the face and the neck...
), created by cartoonist Dosh. Another character which become famous was that of the Israeli children's TV program "Kishkashta
Kishkashta
Kishkashta was the main character in one of the first Israeli Educational Television shows, Ma Pit'om , written by, among other screenwriters, Tamar Adar...
" which was a speaking cactus.
The English form of the word, Sabra, served Israeli manufacturers who wanted to brand their products as typical Israeli products, which was sold in the foreign markets. As a result, "Sabra liqueur
Sabra liqueur
Sabra liqueur is a chocolate-orange flavored liqueur produced in Israel.The primary flavor of Sabra is a rich, bittersweet chocolate. The dense chocolate is cut by the sweet and sour taste of Jaffa oranges. Slightly chilling Sabra liqueur strengthens the chocolate taste, while slightly warming...
" and "Sabra sport" (the sports model of the "Sussita
Autocars Co.
Sabra of Haifa, Israel, was founded in the 1950s as Israel's first car manufacturer . Among their popular models were the Sussita , Carmel and Gilboa...
") were created. The world's largest hummus manufacturer (as of 2009) is a U.S. company called the Sabra Dipping Company
Sabra (company)
Sabra Dipping Company, LLC is a U.S.-based company which produces Middle Eastern Style-style food products, including hummus, eggplant dip, baba ghanoush, and Mediterranean salsa. All Sabra products are certified kosher and vegetarian, and are available throughout the U.S. and Canada...
.
In Politics
The first sabra to exercise the powers of the office of the Prime Minister of Israel was Yigal AllonYigal Allon
Yigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
, who served as acting prime minister from February to March 1969; he was born in Kfar Tavor
Kfar Tavor
-External links:*...
. The first sabra to serve as Prime Minister rather than acting Prime Minister was Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, who first held the office 1974-77, and then again 1992-1995. Since Rabin first took office, there have been four other sabra Prime Ministers: the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
, is the first and (so far) only sabra Prime Minister to have been born in the modern state since Israel's declaration of independence in 1948; he first took office in 1996, before leaving office in 1999 and returning in 2009. Furthermore, Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
, Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, and Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
were all born in what is now the territory of the State of Israel during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
.