Sabra (person)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sabra (Hebrew: צבר‎) is a term used to describe a native-born Israeli Jew.^[1] The word is derived from the Hebrew name for the prickly pear cactus, i.e. "tzabar". 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.^[2]

[edit] References