Tel Aviv Street Wise Hebrew

Let’s face it, almost everyone you run into in Tel-Aviv speaks English, probably better than you, but there are few phrases that anyone roaming the streets of the city should be up to speed on. I’ll give you the masculine and the feminine here, but really if you’re going to use some of these words you’re going to have to conjugate on your own…we don’t have all day. Without further ado I’m going to break them down for you (in no specific order), what they mean, how to say them, and when.

"Sababa סבבה "  (pronounced just like its spelled ) adj/verb/noun- okay, cool, all good, whatever, no problem etc. You can use this one for pretty much everything.

Ex. -How was the movie? -Sababa!

Ex. -What does he look like? -Sababa…

Ex. -I pick you up at 8:00. -Sababa.

Ex. - Sorry I broke your bong, man. -it’s all sababa …you get the point.[/toggle]

Walla ואללה (literally translated “everything’s honey”) Walla ואללה (another one that’s pronounced just like it’s spelled) adverb- really? , oh really…? Used in excitement or as a sarcastic answer. It’s also the name of and Israeli website…kind like yahoo (www.walla.co.il). Walla can also be used as a response to walla, or just as an opener to a conversation.

Ex. -I just bought us two front row tickets to the concert! -WALLA?! -walla, walla…

Ex. -You really should just do what I tell you to do. -walla..?

Ex. -Hey! What’s up? -Walla, everything’s cool. …get it? It’s all in the tone[/toggle]

[toggle title_open="*synonym- HA KOL DVASH" title_closed="*synonym- HA KOL DVASH" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"](literally translated “everything’s honey”)[/toggle]

Chazak(masc.)/a(fem.) חזקה(Ha-zak)" adj. – awesome, amazing, sweet etc. (actually means- strong) Used when referring to something you’re totally enthusiastic about. Do yourself a favor and get your “CHET” sound down before using it.

Ex. - Im flying to Europe…first class. -HAZAK!!!

Ex. - How’s that new song? -HAZAK!!!

..pretty straight forward[/toggle]

 Esh אש (actual meaning- fire)*synonym- Esh אש (actual meaning- fire)"This can also be used when describing a person

**said occasionally in English with a Hebrew accent.

*antonym- (See Halushes) INTERMEDIATE[/toggle]

/Shboora (fem.) שבורה (SHA-BOOR/SHBOORA)" Shaboor (masc.)/Shboora (fem.) שבורה (SHA-BOOR/SHBOORA)"adj. –wasted (high or drunk), exhausted, depressed (actually means- broken).

This lovely word can be used to describe yourself or others as completely wrecked from alcohol or ya know whatever else OR if you’re so tired you could fall asleep right then and there, or if your totally down in the dumps.

Ex. - My girlfriend just dumped me and I had to work all day and I went out last night…

-Oh man, that sucks! -Yea I’m so shaboor.[/toggle]
Hores (masc.)/et (fem.) et HaBriut הורסת את הבריאות Hores (masc.)/et (fem.) et HaBriut הורסת את הבריאות" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"](HOR-ES et haBrEE-YOOT) adj. – Very charming, good looking, funny…pretty much anything good to describe someone (literally translated- health ruining) This is a fun one.

It’s mostly used to describe someone you just think is the bee’s knees in any kind of way. It can also be said to some, used like a verb/action if they, let’s say, are cracking you up (Ex. At/a hores/et LEE (my) haBriut).

This one folks is another one that should really be used by conversational Hebrew speakers. Ex. -OMG did you see that guy? -Yea he is Hores at a HaBriut * can be shortened to just “hores/et” [/toggle]

Lets converse… see what we have so far.

Ex. - I drank SO much last night

-walla?

- Yea, I was SHBOORA!

- how are you now?

- sababa, you know.

…fun right?

*note: this is an exception to the rule of “BET”! (“B” sounds like “V” after another letter (same rule applies to the letter “KAF” which makes a “CHET” sound after another letter)).  Because this word is hardcore slang we pronounce the”B” sound.

[toggle title_open="Lenashnesh oto (masc.)/a (fem.) לנשנש אותו\ה (Le’nash-nesh otoe/otah)" title_closed="Lenashnesh oto (masc.)/a (fem.) לנשנש אותו\ה (Le’nash-nesh otoe/otah)" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"]verb/adj.- I want that person, that person is hot (literally translated- to snack on him/her)

This one is relatively new, it’s a little crude, but we like it! You can use this as an action, to describe how much you want someone/what you would do to them OR as an adjective to describe someone when you at a lack for better words. Make sure your conjugation is at it best to use this baby..you could end up sounding like a doofus.

Ex. -Oh wow do you see that bartender overthere? -Yea, I want to lenashnesh oto! Mmm

Ex. -Hows that new girl your seeing? -SO HOT, Lenashnesh ota! [/toggle]

[toggle title_open="Bassa באסה (pronounced like its spelled)" title_closed="Bassa באסה (pronounced like its spelled)" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"]adj.- disappointing, underwhelming, depressed/depressing. Used to describe something or someone (after correctly conjugated!).

Ex. -How are you feeling after the break up? -I’m in such a bassa…

Ex. -The food at that restaurant was so bassa(improper) mevaess(proper).

*note- this is a simple word people, use it correctly! The letter “BET” when place after another letter sounds like a V. So after conjugating it to describe something other than a feeling (masculine or feminine) you place an “Mem”(“M” sound) before the word. I.e. MEVAESSET (fem.) MEVAESS (masc.), sounds like meh-vah-ess[/toggle]

[toggle title_open="Chai/a be’seretחי\ה בסרט (Hayi/a beh seret) " title_closed="Chai/a be’seretחי\ה בסרט (Hayi/a beh seret) " hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"] adj.- delusional (literally translated- living in a movie) This catchy little phrase is used to describe someone who has absolutely no clue, and lives in la la land, or someone who think their shit don’t stink.

Ex. -Did you see that girl?! What was she wearing??

-Yea, she is so chaia be`seret its unbelievable

Ex. -Gosh, that guy just won’t give up, he hits on every girl in here! - He is chai be’seret if he thinks he can get anyone.

Ex. -If my professor thinks I can get all this done AND study for a test, he is so chai be’seret! [/toggle]

[toggle title_open="Retzach רצח (rets-acH ) adj.- extreme/ly (literally translated- murder) " title_closed="Retzach רצח (rets-acH ) adj.- extreme/ly (literally translated- murder) " hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"]A little bizarre, I know, but kids will be kids! This is used to describe anything that is surprisingly extreme.

Ex. -Wow it’s hot retzach outside today!

Ex. -That test was hard retzach![/toggle]

[toggle title_open="Ma Neesh מה ניש (pronounced like its spelled)" title_closed="Ma Neesh מה ניש (pronounced like its spelled)" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"]greeting/question- What’s up?, What’s going on? This is a very new edition to Hebrew slang, it’s a phrase that became popular because of a funny ‘teenaged’ character on the T.V. sketch comedy show “Eretz Nehederet” on channel 2. It’s kind of a joke about how Israeli youth/young adults these days have slang words for everything (which is true…there are only 15 here but there are tons more!).

“Ma Neesh” is the shorter version of Ma Neeshma? (How are you? etc.).

It at first was used jokingly and very sporadically but has since become uber-popular and a part of everyday language and a fun way to start any conversation!

Ex. -Ma Neesh?! -Walla, Sababa, Ha kol Dvash! [/toggle]

[toggle title_open="CHalushes חלושס (Ha-Looshes)" title_closed="CHalushes חלושס (Ha-Looshes)" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"]adj. – boring, not great, weak (a play on the word HALASH-weak) Used to describe something that disappointed you. To use this guy you should at least somewhat have your Hebrew accent down in order to make the “CHET” sound.

Ex. -Did you hear that new album? -Yea it was chalushes for sure.

Ex. -Want to go out tonight? -I don’t think so I’m so chalushes after having the flu

*antonyms-(see Chazak/Esh)[/toggle]

[toggle title_open="Yalla יאללה" title_closed="Yalla יאללה" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"](pronounced like it’s spelled) verb- C’mon, let’s go, hurry up, I’m in This word is a must in any Hebrew speaker wannabe’s dictionary; it’s basically the mother of all Hebrew slang. It can be used in a ton of different ways and you’ll hear it multiple times a day in different tones.

Ex. - You want to go to the beach? -YALLA!

Ex. - I hate studying for this test! -Yalla, yalla… just get it over with Ex. -WERE LATE YALLA MOVE! [/toggle]

[toggle title_open="Af (masc.) /a (fem.) ali (AF A-LIE) עפ עליי" title_closed="Af (masc.) /a (fem.) ali (AF A-LIE) עפ עליי" hide="yes" border="yes" style="default"]verb- really in to me, going off on me (literally translated-“ flying on me”)

This one’s very popular but a little tricky; it can be used positively or negatively. You can say this about someone who is totally into you or is really enthusiastic about you (doesn’t necessarily have to be a sexual connotation, it can also be about your boss really liking your work for example) OR it can be used if someone really laid into you or is pissed off at you and gave you a piece of their mind.

NOW, bear with me here, you can also “AF” on other people (ex. Ani AF ALEIHA- I’m so into that girl). WARNING: this should be used only by those who speak conversational Hebrew, this is not a mix and match phrase. … but you’ll get the hang of it. [/toggle]

There you have it! 15 phrases and words that you should know—learn them; live them; love them…because here in Tel-Aviv we definitely do! And don’t you worry about your accent, they are laughing with you, not at you…seriously, they like it.

Yalla יָאללָה

Yalla, let’s learn some more Hebrew! Or, as an Israeli counselor at my Jewish summer camp used to say when he wanted to get us going, “Yalla balagan,” which (roughly) translates to “Let’s go all out.”

Yalla, it turns out, is a loanword from Arabic, a portmanteau of ya + Allah, or “oh God” (in Arabic, the “L” sound is more drawn out, and the “ahh” is a bit closer to an “uhh”). To demonstrate a few different uses of the word, StreetWise Hebrew TLV1 podcast host Guy Sharett uses soundbites from advertising, the Israeli Knesset, and popular music:

— Part of an ad for Pepsi (“yalla now”—in this case, in Arabic);

— How to tell your boyfriend to go home when you’re mad at him, in song (“Yalla lech ha-bayita, Motti,” or, “Motti, just go home now”)

— A way to motivate your friend to get up off the couch and start learning Hebrew (“Az yalla,” or, “So come on already”)

— A chant for your favorite sports team (“Yalla Bulls,” or, “Let’s go Bulls”)

— A pointed rejection (“Yalla-yalla,” or, “yeah right,” “as if!” etc.)

Yalla – יָאללָה

Ya Allah – יָא אַללָה Whow Goodness

Yalla zazim – יָאללָה זָזִים Lets Go

Yalla lech ha-bayita Motti – יָאללָה לֵךְ הבַּיתָה מוֹטִי Go home

Az yalla – אָז יָאללָה Then lets get at it

Yalla beitar – יָאללָה בֵּיתָ”ר Go Beitar

Yalla-yalla – יָאללָה-יָאללָה Quick quick

Tov, yalla bye – טוֹב, יָאללָה בַּיי Ok Bye

Tov, yalla mmmmmmbye – טוֹב, יָאללָה מְמְמְמְמְ-בַּיי Goodbye

Its all about God .Nationalist Messianic Zionism

In order for Zionism to return to its roots, Israelis must wake up from man-made messianic delusions.

   

Rabbi Moshe Levinger, left, and Hanan Porat celebrating in 1975.

“I live here and you live in Re’ut only by virtue of the Divine Promise giving the Land exclusively to the People of Israel,” a settler from Mount Haresha (an outpost near Talmon in the northern West bank) summarized our conversation this week. This was a predictable argument in our discussion of the legitimacy of his outpost, and was raised for lack of choice, in the absence of any other convincing arguments. Legal and factual arguments are not the preferred modus operandi for the nationalist-messianic settlers, and his odds of convincing anyone were slim.

This argument, currently voiced by many cabinet ministers and Knesset members, expresses the ability of religion to provide believers with axiomatic answers in every sphere of life. It serves the apostles of messianic nationalism, among whose numbers are members of Habayit Hayehudi, but also many in the Likud party who are trying to take possession of secular Zionism and its achievements, while rewriting these in the light of their own values. In their view, the divine promise to inherit the land, given to the people of Israel, and their mobilization to this end, is what brought about the establishment of the state of Israel and its flourishing, not the actions of the Zionist movement and the decisions of its leaders.

The fact that faith in messianic redemption, constrained for 2,000 years by a religious edict forbidding taking action to hasten the Messiah’s coming, did not bring about the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty in its historical homeland — an event that had to wait for the Balfour Declaration, the granting of the right for self-determination and the ratification of the British Mandate in 1922 — did not shake the belief system that always ties, in the eyes of the messianic faithful, all events to the Jewish God.

The Chief Rabbi in Mandatory Palestine, Rabbi Kook, had no difficulty in embracing the Balfour Declaration when he wrote that “the commencement of redemption is appearing before our very eyes ... anyone with a soul, who can see through the external trappings of events, knows that the hand of God is evident in guiding history, and it will lead this process to its culmination.”

Theodore Herzl speaking at 6th Zionist Congress in 1903Getty Images

The fact that secular leaders — Herzl, Weizmann, Jabotinsky, Ben Zvi, Ben Gurion, Sharett and others — were the ones to adopt the political ambitions of the Jewish people and work towards their fulfilment within a framework of a national movement, Zionism, does not rattle the underlying assumption of the followers of Kook.
The disciples of messianic nationalism did not see the settlement and diplomatic policies of the Zionist movement as a necessary step on the way to building the economy and institutions of the fledgling state, but as a divine sign of the end of exile and the beginning of redemption.

The messiah’s donkey
They aren’t impressed with the fact that secular Zionism wanted to establish a secular and liberal society, as Jabotinsky threatened determinedly: “In our national home we’ll consider those Jews who do not shake off the rust of exile and who refuse to shave off their beards and sidelocks as second-class citizens. We won’t give them voting rights.” In their view, secular Zionism is the donkey on which will ride the messiah king announcing the coming of redemption, as described in Zacharia 9,9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass”.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.

A constant striving for immediate contact with the divine.
Rabbi Kook’s son mobilized in the effort to explain the religious “miracle” which was revealed in the founding of the state. According to his vision, the partition plan wasn’t the fruit of enormous diplomatic efforts by the Zionist movement, a result of the impact of the Holocaust and the consolidation of the Jewish community in Palestine. It happened only because God moved the hearts of the world’s nations to support the process of redemption, and when redemption begins there is no room for pulling back. “Just like the morning star is the redemption of Israel.”

According to the messianic ones, the victory in the War of Independence wasn’t a product of the far-sightedness of Ben Gurion and others. Anita Shapira, his biographer, emphasizes the protracted search by Ben Gurion for the right timing of establishing the state, basing his assessment on data and not on miracles. “During the 1930s he talked of reaching a solution with the Arabs but at the same time, quietly and surreptitiously, he noted every month the numbers of army-age men among Jews and Arabs, calculating how many more we need in order to oppose them.”

Victory, in the eyes of the messianic ones, was a divine miracle, since only thus can one explain the myth of a victory of the few and weak over the many and strong. The meticulous preparations of the Jewish pre-state community, under the leadership of Ben Gurion - as he explained to the Knesset in 1960: “In the War of Independence the Arabs were disunited… they weren’t well-equipped … when our equipment arrived it was better than theirs. Besides, as strange as this may seem, we had a larger army than they did” — these are insignificant historical facts to them.

The Six-Day War also became a divine miracle for them. Even the settlements in the occupied territories, the flagship of their worldview, were explained by the fact that the secular donkey working in their service changed, “not knowing who was driving him”. Allon, Peres and Rabin tried to lure young kibbutz and moshav members to the Jordan Valley, although not altogether successfully. It was Sharon, the secular pragmatist, who turned the settlement enterprise into what it is today, taking advantage of the housing shortages faced by ultra-Orthodox families and pushing them into Modi’in and Beitar Ilit, and luring secular people —immigrants and lower- and middle-class people to Ma’ale Adumim and Ariel. The national messianic ones didn’t establish even one settlement numbering ten thousand Jews. Most of their communities are small, isolated and dependent on government assistance.

Yitzhak Rabin, right, near the Western Wall in Jerusalem during the Six Day War.IDF archive

In contrast to messianic dogmatism which explains the twists of history only as serving territorial expansion, backed by divine decree, Israel’s key leaders knew how to persist in their pursuit of the Zionist vision of a democratic state for the Jewish people at historical intersections, even when this meant scaling down. They succeeded in shaping reality by correctly understanding it. A careful consideration of diplomatic and demographic conditions motivated Ben Gurion to make do with the Armistice agreement lines (the “Green Line”) in 1949 and to withdraw the IDF from Sinai in 1956. Thus, Begin decided on peace with Egypt in exchange for returning Sinai and Rabin returned to Jordan some land that Israel had taken over in the Arava as part of the peace agreement with Jordan in 1994. Barak withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, and five years later Sharon withdrew the IDF and evacuated settlements in Gaza and northern Samaria.

In all these cases, to the messianic-nationalists’ chagrin, no divine intervention, not even at the last moment, stopped the unfolding of events. These leaders saw territory held by Israel as a means for meeting the changing diplomatic, economic, cultural and social objectives of Israeli society, not as an immutable, sacred objective, in and of itself, overriding any other interest or consideration. They did not sanctify the status quo as Golda Meir and Yitzhak Shamir had done earlier, and as Netanyahu is doing today, but chose active and responsible Zionist action.

Because of the blind faith of those who espouse messianic nationalism, that everything that happens in the political and diplomatic arenas is an expression of divine preferences, and that the ability to fathom the ways of the divine is given only to them, they don’t need a democratic system. “It’s time it moved over,” said Yehudit Katzover.

Gush emunim settlers in front of tents put up in an attempt to establish the Elon Moreh settlement at Sebastia, 1975. This community became an icon for the settlement movement.Moshe Milner, GPO
Furthermore, these disciples, who claim that “every step we take, every waving of our arms, opens electrical circuits that turn on lights in divine spheres” demand preferential budgeting. An extreme expression of this attitude was evident in an article published last year by MK Bezalel Smotrich under the caption “We deserve more”. He explained, without an iota of embarrassment, that it is seemly that the state allocates more budgets to Zionist religious education. Why so? Since according to his belief, religious Zionism was given the task of leading the people of Israel.

Lead it in which direction? Hanan Porat has the answer — “to establish a kingdom of priests and a holy people”, the return of divinity to Jerusalem, the establishment of the Kingdom of the House of David and the erection of the Temple — as the key elements in repairing the world and establishing the kingdom of God on earth.” This answer, given in 2008, only repeated what was written in 1974 with the establishment of Gush Emunim, the settlement movement which tried to block diplomatic agreements that entailed withdrawal from conquered territories, while taking over the reins of Zionism: “Gush Emunin was established with the aim of infusing an old-new message into existing vessels, in order to arouse people to fully fulfill Zionism by action and by spirit, while recognizing that the source of its vision lies in Israel’s heritage and the roots of Judaism, and that its objectives are the full redemption of the people of Israel and the entire world.”

Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz. Courtesy
At the time only a few people understood the magnitude of the threat to the Zionist vision. They included Rabin, who wrote in 1979: “I saw in Gush Emunim a very grave phenomenon — a cancer in Israel’s democracy. To counter their basic conception that is contradictory to Israel’s democratic basis it was necessary to wage a battle of ideas, in order to expose the real significance of the movement’s positions and modes of operation.” Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz explained that the messianic teachings of the younger Rabbi Kook would lead to a transition from “humanity, through nationalism, to bestiality, turning the people of God into ignoramuses”.

Today, successive Netanyahu governments have turned the nationalist-messianic approach into official policy. Its key representatives hold important ministerial posts — education, culture, justice, internal security, immigration, tourism and even representing Israel at the UN. Their words and deeds shape the image of Israel in global public opinion, repelling and distancing Israel’s closest friends, causing continuous erosion in the support of Diaspora Jews. The chance of returning Zionism to its origins and to its rightful heirs depends on a sobering up of the Jewish public in Israel from the delusion of man-made messianism, which in practice only amounts to down-to-earth politics, proceeding on a path of racist ultra-nationalism, tinged with corruption. This path is threatening the security and the democratic, moral and social future of Israel.

ALBERT EINSTEIN’S PROPHETIC WARNING OF VIOLENCE IN MIDDLE EAST FOUND IN LETTER TO FIRST ISRAELI PRESIDENT

Albert Einstein is well known for his genius and scientific insights into how the world operates. Not only are his words a measure of scientific understanding, but they resonate with people on a deeply personal level. This is partly what makes Albert Einstein’s journal reflecting his travels in Palestine in 1923 so profound in its assessment of Jewish culture, Antisemitism and the pre-Israeli Arab world.

When Einstein wrote to his friend Chaim Weizmann, a Zionist chemist who would become the first Israeli President, he spoke not of physics, but of the dangers of nationalism and conflict with the Arab nations. He warned his friend that “Should we be unable to find a way to honest cooperation and honest pacts with the Arabs, then we have learned absolutely nothing during our 2,000 years of suffering and deserve all that will come to us.”


“Should the Jews not learn to live in peace with the Arabs, the struggle against them will follow them for decades in the future.”
While that may seem a bit harsh for Albert Einstein, he was speaking to a man who held the future of Middle East relations in his hand. Although Einstein himself was a self-described Zionist, his was a mindset based on the view of Zionism as a rational and well researched vision based on learning and self-improvement. As such, Einstein was very disappointed to see the movement in stubbornness and stagnation.



Albert Einstein with his wife Elsa Einstein and Zionist leaders, including future President of Israel Chaim Weizmann, his wife Vera Weizmann, Menahem Ussishkin, and Ben-Zion Mossinson on arrival in New York City in 1921-Wikimedia Commons

This view was in part, developed by his 1923 visit to pre-state Israel. Albert Einstein first arrived by train to Jerusalem where he was taken aback by the backwardness of the Jewish people. It was difficult for Einstein to see a filthy and impoverished community, lacking in direction, and seemingly content to live in squalor. This did not conform to the view Albert Einstein had of Zionism and his criticism of a Jewish people so entirely stuck in the past was severe.

All of this changed when Einstein visited the future location of the Hebrew University where a tough, Jewish people were hard at work, building a community for themselves in Palestine and contributing to the education of the Jewish people. So respected was Albert Einstein as a Jew and as the worlds leading physicist that he was greeted as a “messiah” of sorts, an honor Einstein refuted with good humor in his journals.


Pre-state Tel Aviv much as Albert Einstein would have seen it in 1923-Wikimedia Commons
Einstein then left to visit Tel Aviv, of which he was truly impressed, relating it to the great American city of Chicago. He was comforted to find the many German Jews who had been living in Tel Aviv and came home with a much more favorable view of Israel. Despite Einstein’s renewed faith in Israel, years later when David Ben-Gurion offered Einstein the position of Israel’s first president, he refused.

Albert Einstein felt that he would not be able to govern according to his conscience and that the people of Israel would not like what he had to say. He maintained that the growing strain of Jewish Nationalism would isolate Israel and jeopardize relations with the neighboring Arab nations.

Albert Einstein was a staunch pacifist as such, he wrote a letter condemning the militant Zionist leader Menachem Begin, who would eventually become Israel’s sixth prime minister. Einstein called Begin a fascist and stated that Herut, Begin’s right-wing Zionist movement, posed the greatest risk to the infant State.


Albert Einstein with Zionist leaders Ben-Zion Mossinson, Chaim Weizmann, and Menachem Ussishkin, arriving in New York in 1921.-Getty Images
In a letter to Weizmann, Einstein states “I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain – especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish state,” adding that the Arabs and Jews needed to work together in the construction of the new Jewish state.

“The two great Semitic peoples have a great common future… The attitude we adopt toward the Arab minority will provide the real test of our moral standards as a people.”
Director Noa Ben Hagai, who is making a documentary based on Albert Einstein’s journals and politics says “It was important to me to let that voice be heard,” adding that “His statements didn’t come out of the blue, but when he makes them many years before they came true, it really seems like a prophetic statement.

“I felt it was important to show his wording, his humanist, moral and universal vision that has become a rarity. He called himself a Zionist, but today some who feel that they own the term would have called him a traitor.”