The Americanization of Israel and Hebrew

Rating Advisory: P

In a previous post I discussed how the ubiquitous Israeli shopping mall is indicative of the rise of materialism and consumer culture in the Holy Land (click here). Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of changes in Israel I am happy to see as a result of this. I, for one, never enjoyed buying milk in plastic bags; cartons are definitely a step in the right direction.

I also don’t mind the availability of American products on supermarket shelves. When I was in yeshivah in 1992/3, American food products were first starting to make their appearance. The trail was initially blazed by chocholate products like Mars bars and M & Ms (which at that time were not yet kosher in America.) But that was about it. Eli, for example, came back from a visit to his parents in New York with a suitcase stuffed with little Heinz ketchup packets. At the time we all mocked him (he was the softest among us when it came to “roughing it” in Israel), though secretly I was jealous of him as I am clinically addicted to Heinz ketchup.

Then a major supermarket chain (I think it was Supersol) promoted shavu’ah America (“America week”), during which shelves were stocked with products imported from America. We were in the middle of nowhere and there was no Supersol to be found for miles around us, so we all hitchhiked to Jerusalem to enjoy some gustatory comforts from home.

Of course today the supermarkets are full of American products:
I am happy to report that on my most recent trip to Israel I was able to find Heinz ketchup at the local corner makolet (grocery store) for just 15.90 shekel.

"There is no meal without Heinz ketchup"
(Click to enlarge)

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Since the 1990s, Israelis who are enamored with American culture have not looked back.

Which is fine.

Except when it comes to Hebrew language.

I can understand Israelis’ infatuation with American food, music, celebrities, etc., but why do they feel the need to pervert the Holy Tongue with English vocabulary. Don’t get me wrong. I understand very well that Hebrew, like all languages is dynamic and evolves from era to era, if not from generation to generation. The Hebrew of Moses, Isaiah and Hillel each differs from one another, to say nothing of later eras until today. Each generation adapted Hebrew for its own needs, which always included a significant amount of borrowing from the dominant contemporary regional language.

So I understand that there is really no such thing as “pure” Hebrew. (Among the reasons I was once rejected for a teaching position at a local high school was that my Hebrew is not “pure” enough.) Yet I am still disturbed when I hear (and read) Israelis who callously and capriciously corrupt Hebrew when it is completely unnecessary. I don’t expect Israelis to incorporate every recommendation of the Academy of the Hebrew Lanaguage into their daily usage, especially technical terms, but why do Israelis have to throw away perfectly good words that have been in common use and accepted by the masses for thousands of years. (The Academy of the Hebrew Language serves as the guardian of the Holy Tongue and is responsible, among other things, for designating official neologisms wherever necessary.)

Take the Hebrew word for chicken, עוף oaf, for example. This word appears throughout the Bible and continues to be recognized (or should be) by every first-grader. Even my galut-raised two-and-a-half-year-old son knows this word. Yet the Israeli Burger King franchises seem to think that their customers are more familiar with the English word “chicken” than the Hebrew word oaf. You think I am kidding? Then how else to explain the fact that the menu in this fine culinary establishment lists צ'יקן פילה chicken fillet?

(Click on images to enlarge.)

(Yes, as American tourists we do get our kicks by eating in the American chains that have opened in Israel.
But for the record, Burger Ranch is better than Burger King. Also, while Pizza Hut is quite good, the average Israeli pizzeria is just as good as Dominoes. Be sure to check each individual location for a kashruth certificate.)

Another thing I just don’t get is why Israeli stores prefer English-only signs. (I’m not talking about those businesses that are targeted specifically at tourists.) This store on Ben Yehudah in Jerusalem, for example, has not one Hebrew word in its sign, yet I still could not figure out what they sold.

To be continued . . . (Our favorite place in the world: Mahane Yehudah)