It settled itself. It was prepared to wait. It might take ages but, like everyone else, they would soak the earth with their blood, wouldn’t they?
Glossary
Hebrew
Abba — dad
Aliyah — move to Israel
Chablan Mishtara — bomb disposal unit
Eretz Yisrael — the land of Israel
Galut — the diaspora; the world outside Israel
Giveret — “lady,” a respectful term of address
Golani — an elite fighting unit in the Israeli army
Hakol beseder — everything’s okay
Haredim — the ultra-orthodox Jews
Hatikvah — the Israeli national anthem
Ima — mom
Kibbutznik — someone who lives on a kibbutz (an Israeli collective community)
Kol hakevod — well done
Kotel — the only wall that survives the Jews’ Second Temple (which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.)
L’chaim — “to life”; said when making a toast
Makolet — small, corner grocery store
Malkosh — the last rain of spring (there is almost always no rain in Israel during the summer)
Mazel tov — congratulations
Mensch — a decent person
Midrachov — a pedestrian mall
Moshav — cooperative agricultural community with individual farms
Motek — term of affection, “sweetie”
Pesach — the Hebrew word for Passover
Shabbat — Saturday, a day of rest in Israel
Shabbat shalom — greeting, “have a peaceful Shabbat”
Shesh besh — backgammon
Shin Bet — Israel’s internal security and intelligence service
Shwarma — meat shaved from a spit and served in pita bread
Stachim — the occupied territories
Streimel — a fur hat worn by married, ultra-Orthodox men
Shtetl — a type of small, Eastern European town where many Jews once lived
Teudat oleh — Immigration card or certificate
Teudat zehut — identity card (to be carried at all times by Israeli adults)
Torah — the five books of Moses and the cornerstone of Jewish law and religion
Yeshiva — Jewish religious school
Yom Hashoah — Holocaust remembrance day
Zaidy — granddad
Arabic
Ab — dad
As salamu alaykum — greeting used when bidding people welcome
Alhamdulilah — praise be to God; equivalent of “halleluyah”
Daffawiya — a native of the West Bank
Eid al Fitr — holiday marking the end of Ramadan (and the breaking of the fasting period)
Foules — cooked fava beans, a staple food of the Middle East
Gazazweh — native of Gaza
Habibi — term of affection, “dear,” “darling”
Hamas — an acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement”; its members are deeply religious, govern the Gaza Strip and are prepared to use violence to oust Israelis from the stachim (and possibly Israel itself).
Hamuleh — collective noun used for extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins etc.)
Halawa — Middle Eastern confectionery
Insha’Allah — “if Allah wills”; similar to the English “God willing”
Irdh — honour
Jadda — grandma
Keffiyeh — traditional check-patterned Palestinian head-dress
Kunafa — a Middle Eastern dessert
Nakba — the “catastrophe”; i.e. the creation of the state of Israel and the consequent loss of land and independence for Palestinians
Sada — a strong, bitter coffee
Shaheed — a term meaning “witness” or “martyr” and applied to Muslims who sacrificed themselves out of religious conviction; it is often applied to suicide bombers
Sharia — strict Islamic law
Shebab — “young men,” the young Palestinians who fight the Israelis
Shuk — marketplace
Ta’alaa — Almighty
Teita — grandma
Thobes — traditional ankle-length robe with long sleeves
Um — mom
Ya’allah — Dear God (an exclamation)