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sabra

 
Dictionary: sa·bra   ('brə) pronunciation
 
n.

A native-born Israeli.

[Hebrew ṣābār, sabra, prickly pear.]


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Israeli name for the prickly pear. Also an Israeli liqueur flavoured with bitter oranges and chocolate.

 

Word ultimately derived from the Arabic for a variety of prickly pear found in Israel; also the name for a native-born Israeli.

Native-born Israelis are described as Sabras because their personality is often thought to be similar to the fruit of the plant: tough and prickly on the outside, sweet on the inside.

BRYAN DAVES

 
Wikipedia: Sabra (person)
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Sabra (Hebrew: צבר‎) is a term used to describe a person born in Israel.[1] In contrast, an oleh (masculine) or olah (feminine) is a person who immigrates to Israel[2] under Aliyah.

The word sabra derived from the Hebrew name for the Indian Fig Opuntia cactus, "tzabar," and related to the Arabic word for aloe/cactus, "sabr," which means patience.[3] The allusion is to a tenacious, thorny desert plant with a thick hide that conceals a sweet, softer interior, i.e., rough and masculine on the outside, but delicate and sensitive on the inside. The first use of the word to describe native-born Israelis is claimed by the journalist Uri Kesari, who published an essay, "We Are the Leaves of the Sabra!", in Doar HaYom on 18 April 1931.[4]

The sociological characteristics of the sabra were examined by Oz Almog in his book "The Sabra - The Creation of the New Jew."[5]

In the 1980's, when television in Israel was still black and white and aired several hours a day, the Israeli children's show, Ma Pit'om ("What on earth?" or "You don't say!," מה פתאום) featured as its star the talking cactus Kishkashta; Kishkashta was a Sesame Street-style felt puppet who introduced himself with a solitary song.

The "sabr" is also a national symbol for Bedouins. In their folklore it is also known as a symbol of patience and perseverance.[6]

References

  1. ^ An Israel-America diary The Economist, 16 November 2006
  2. ^ Katz, Lisa. "Oleh, Olah, Olim". http://judaism.about.com/library/1_culture/bl_olim_terror.htm. Retrieved on 2009-02-08. 
  3. ^ Balashon, Hebrew Language Detective
  4. ^ Tzabar Balashon - Hebrew Language Detective
  5. ^ Almog, Oz. 2000. The Sabra the creation of the new Jew. The S. Mark Taper Foundation imprint in Jewish studies. Berkeley: University of California Press
  6. ^ Israel and the Bedouins, a Social and Political History by Samih Farsoun and Naseer Aruri

External links


 
Translations: Sabra
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - sabra

Nederlands (Dutch)
geboren Israëli, sabra, cactusvijg

Français (French)
n. - sabra

Deutsch (German)
n. - Sabra (Israeli, der in Israel geboren wurde)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - Εβραίος γεννημένος στο Ισραήλ

Italiano (Italian)
ebreo nato in Israele (fico d'India, spinoso fuori, dolcissimo dentro)

Português (Portuguese)
n. - sabra (m) (f)

Русский (Russian)
еврей, родившийся в Израиле

Español (Spanish)
n. - sabra, israelí de nacimiento

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sabra

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
土生土长的以色列人

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 土生土長的以色列人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 이스라엘 태생의 이스라엘인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - イスラエル生まれのイスラエル人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) يهودي مولود في فلسطين, الصباري‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צבר, יליד ישראל‬


 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.  Read more
Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sabra (person)" Read more
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