Sabra (person)

A prickly pear cactus, which is known in Hebrew as "tzabar" or "sabra" ()

Ruth Dayan, widow of general and Defense minister Moshe Dayan, was born in Haifa in March 1917.

A Sabra, Hebrew: צבר - tzabar, is a Jew who is born in Ottoman Palestine, Mandatory Palestine or in the State of Israel. As of 2015, about three quarters of the Israeli Jews are sabras.

The term "sabra" is derived from the prickly pear. Like this cactus a sabra is supposed to be hard on the outside but soft on the inside. The National personification of the State of Israel is typically represented by "Sabra". The term "Sabra" refers to a native-born Israeli, and it is often symbolized by the prickly pear cactus, which is tough on the outside but sweet on the inside. The concept of the Sabra embodies qualities of toughness, resilience, and a deep connection to the land, alongside a warm, open, and welcoming nature. This personification emerged as a symbol of the pioneering spirit and the Israeli identity, particularly after the Establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Sabra is understood to be a term that is used to allude to the collective nature of Israeli Jews: it is a tenacious and thorny desert plant with a thick skin that conceals a sweet and soft interior. This description is the basis for the design of Srulik, a cartoon character that represents the average sabra and thus serves as Israel's national personification. In 2010, over 70% of Israel's Jewish population was composed of sabras, In Modern Hebrew, the terms tzabar (SING; ) and tzabarim (PLUR; ) refer to any Jew born in Israel. Derived from the Hebrew name for the prickly pear cactus, which is commonly spelled sabra in English, the words had come into widespread use by the 1930s, when they were used to designate a Jewish person whose place of birth was located within the Land of Israel—corresponding with Ottoman Syria until 1918 (Template:Confer) and with the British Mandate of Palestine until 1948 (Template:Confer)—though it may have appeared earlier.

In politics

The first sabra to exercise the powers of the office of the prime minister of Israel was Yigal Allon, 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 sabra prime minister to have been born in the modern state after Israel's declaration of independence in 1948. He first took office in 1996, before leaving office in 1999 and returning in 2009. Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Ehud Olmert were all born in what is now the territory of the State of Israel during the Mandate period.

The first sabra who became President of Israel was Yitzhak Navon, who was born in Jerusalem. The first sabra born after Israel's declaration of independence, who exercised the powers of the office of the president of Israel, was Dalia Itzik. The first sabra born after Israel's declaration of independence, who became President of Israel rather than acting president, is the incumbent Isaac Herzog. He is the first son of a former Israeli president to become president.

Statehood Generation leaders

In addition to Netanyahu being the first of the Statehood Generation to serve as prime minister, Avraham Burg, speaker of the Knesset from 1999–2003, was the first Speaker to have been born in the modern state since 1948. The first of the Statehood Generation to serve as acting president, was Dalia Itzik and to serve as the actual president is Isaac Herzog. Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, former prime ministers, were also born in the modern state.

In culture

Srulik in the Israeli museum of cartoons and comics in Holon, Israel.

The Sabra received an artistic and symbolic representation in the form of the illustrated character "Srulik", who wears shorts, sandals and a Tembel hat, created by cartoonist Dosh. Another such character is the Israeli children's television character Kishkashta, a talking anthropomorphic cactus; the plant is another symbol of the Sabra.

The English form of the word, Sabra, served Israeli manufacturers who wanted to brand their products as recognisably Israeli products, which are 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.

In popular culture, an episode of the American Saturday Night Live series contained a sketch entitled "Sabra Price Is Right" featuring Tom Hanks as the guest host. The sketch was written by Robert Smigel and is a parody of Israel-born Jews making bargains with people who believe this show is The Price Is Right. In the sketch, Hanks's character "Uri Shurinson" and the other Sabra are swindling the contestants, conning them into purchasing shoddy products. Products include a Summit clock-radio, a "Pinnacle satellite dish" that's a v-aerial, a cordless phone that's a defective rotary phone, a microwave that's a toaster oven, a CD-player that's a child's bank, and a defective buzzer from the game show itself, for which they guess the price rather than winning them. The sketch concludes with an Arab portrayed by Dana Carvey who bargains in the same manner as the Sabra and in the middle of their argument, they all "disco" as the sketch concludes.

In the 1980s, Marvel Comics created an Israeli superheroine named Sabra / Ruth Bat-Seraph. The character has fought the Hulk, been an ally of the X-Men, and appeared as a reimagined version in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Captain America: Brave New World (2025) portrayed by Shira Haas.

See also

• Sabra (comics)
• Culture of Israel
• Israeli Jews
• Kibbutz
• Moshav
• Muscular Judaism
• Negation of the Diaspora
• Srulik

External links

• Video of Kishkashta on YouTube
• Hebrew site with video of Kishkashta

Template:Israeli Jews by ethnic or national origin in Israel

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Bukharat Jews
• Grape vine
• Dance in the State of Israel
• Jewish dance
• Mint lemonade
• Im Tirtzu
• Dāwīḏ ben Yishai

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