Post War Hebrew Dictionary

כדור: Ball, Pill, Bullet

There exists an urban legend about a soldier who asked for a כדור לראש because he was having severe migraines. His commander mistakenly believed that he wanted to kill himself and was thus put under maximum supervision.

ארון: Closet, Locker, Coffin

When I unexpectedly found myself at a protest on Kaplan street I kept hearing a chant חיים, חיות, ולא בארונות. I was at first perplexed until the solemn meaning suddenly hit me.

מבצע:  Sale, Military Operation

A sale is a limited time operation. So is a battle. Until now we had מבצע צוק איתן, מבצע הר חומות. Now we have a war – חרבות ברזל which consists of many heroic מבצעים.

רימון: Pomegranate, Grenade

A pomegranate holds much significance in our land. It’s part of the שבעת המינים. It also has a more sinister meaning.

גרעין: Seedling, Nuclear Arms

The beautiful start of every living thing. Also what might annihilate all of humanity in the future.

חיסול: Finish, Eliminate

The same word we use to convey that we ravenously finished a bag of Bamba is also what we use to describe that a terrorist has been eliminated.

טיהור: Purify, Clear from Terrorist

A beautiful word which means pureness and holiness. A word now graffitied on all the houses in the kibbutzim in the Gaza Envelope.

This war has tainted the meaning of so many beautiful innocent words. May the words we speak once again reclaim their simplicity and sincerity.