There’s no doubt about it, Israel is one nation with a strong obsession with fruit, and today we’re going to explore just how much and how deeply this obsession is ingrained in the nation of Israel, the country of Israel, and the people of Israel. Even in some of the most unlikely places, you will find references to fruit in Israeli society.
10) Life is good, Life is strawberries
In Israel, if someone asks you how you are doing it is perfectly acceptable to respond that life is strawberries – tutim. If your life is strawberries, that’s good. There’s even a very popular song about it by Hanan Ben Ari – HaHaim Shelanu Tutim.
9) Fruity Israeli names
I can’t recall ever meeting someone called Date, Palm Tree, Grape, Grape Cluster, Grape Vine, or any other fruit name for that matter in any language other than Hebrew. In Israel, on the other hand, these are popular names.
- Tamar means “date” and is a biblical name that has been the #1 most popular girls name in Israel a few years running
- Gefen means “grape vine” and is the #47 most popular girls name in Israel and is also the last name of one of the most popular singers in Israel – Aviv Geffen
- Shaked means “almond” and is the #53 most popular girls name and the last name of one of Israel’s most prominant politicians – Ayelet Shaked
- Dekel means “palm tree” and is a popular Israeli last name, and also happens to be my last name
- Eshkol means “grape cluster” and was the last name of the third prime minister of Israel – Levi Eshkol
- Einav means “grape” and is a girls name that seems to be growing in popularity
8) Fruity Israeli street names
If you are ever in Israel, you are likely to visit a street named after a fruit. It’s inevitable. Every city and small village inevitably has a bunch of streets named after fruits. Israel loves fruits.
6) Fruit in the Israeli military – Really? Really!
You might not consider the military to be a place of fruit names, unless, of course, you are talking about the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). And when I say the IDF has fruit names, we’re not talking about just any units, we’re talking about the most elite units. In fact, not one, not two, not three, but a whopping four of Israel’s most elite military units have been named after fruits.
- Haruv (Carob) is the most elite unit within the largest infantry brigade, Kfir, in the IDF
- Shaked (Almond) was a special forces unit part of the southern command
- Egoz (Nut) is a specially trained counter-guerrilla unit part of the northern command
- Duvdivan (Cherry) is one of the most impressive units in the Israeli military. Highly trained and extremely tough. Duvdivan is the unit that is often trusted to go undercover and apprehend terrorists
That’s right “Cherry.” A CHERRY? They couldn’t have come up with something a little bit tougher? But the proof is in the pudding and Duvdivan is a highly respected unit. Just goes to show how much Israeli’s cherish their fruit.
But that’s not all. There are two more fruits in the lexicon of the Israeli military. The cocking handle of a machine gun is called a tapuach (apple) and grenades are called rimonim (pomegranates).
Fun Fact: The word “grenade” in many languages comes from the word “pomegranate.” Notice that the second part of the word pome/granate sounds like “grenade” – not a coincidence.
5) Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside – “Sabras”
There is a special name for someone who is born in Israel. They’re called a “sabra,” aka prickly pear. It’s a desert-grown fruit that is resilient under harsh circumstances, tough on the outside, and sweet on the inside. Much like the State of Israel itself.
5) A biblical reference to Israel as an apple tree
In Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs), Israel is compared to an apple tree in this beautiful verse:
“As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved…”
Song of Songs 2:3
4) Watermelons of oppression
Life hasn’t always been strawberries, so to speak. There were times when the Children of Israel couldn’t have the fruit they loved. After leaving Egypt, one of the biggest complaints was about the lack of yummy food in the desert. And many people even suggested going back to Egypt just to have it again. The fruit they missed and mentioned by name…watermelons.
“We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free of charge, the cucumbers, the watermelons…”
Bamidbar/Numbers 11:5
3) Fruit and Tisha B’Av
Another biblical story of fruit…when the Children of Israel were in the desert, spies were sent to check out the Land of Israel. Some of the spies returned bearing fruit that was so big and wonderful that the Children of Israel mistakenly decided the land was too intimidating for them. And that’s how Tisha B’Av, the most tragic day of the Hebrew calendar, became a thing.
So even our biggest regrets are fruit-based.
2) Happy new year – eat fruit
On the Jewish new year, we don’t just wait for the apple to fall, we slather it with honey and nosh on it. That’s Rosh HaShana for you, when the people of Israel, including Jews around the world, eat fruit as a symbol of a sweet year. In Jewish tradition, “everything follows the head” including the head of the year. Eat sweet, think sweet, it’ll be sweet.
1) Tu BiShvat – a holiday celebrating fruit and fruit trees
As we’ve established, Israelis love fruit. We even dedicate a day of the year just to focus on fruit. It’s a day when many people like to plant trees (other than on years of shmita when the land lies fallow), especially fruit trees. And it’s a day when we love to…yup, eat fruit. All kinds of fruit. And especially fruit grown in the Land of Israel.
No wonder the people of Israel are so obsessed with fruit – the most impactful moments in our history, for better or for worse, always seem to be fruit concentrated.