Crescent Star

by Nicholas Maes

  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

  Tzahal — acronym meaning literally “Defense Army for Israel”; the Israeli armed forces

  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)