SABRA JEWS (THE PALESTINIAN JEWS) AND A CACTUS THAT IS NOT FROM INDIA

Sabra (a Jew born in the region prior to the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948) lineage consists of indigenous Old Yishuv Sephardic/Mizrahi Jews who lived in Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine for generations.

Before 1948, Jewish residents of the region held Palestinian citizenship under the British Mandate and were referred to as Palestinian Jews.

The word sabra (Modern Hebrew: צַבָּר or tzabar) has a rich linguistic history that traces back through Arabic, Semitic roots, and European plant classification. In Modern Hebrew, tzabar refers to the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) and its edible, spiky fruit.

The Hebrew term was borrowed directly from the Arabic צבר (ṣabr or ṣabir), which refers both to the cactus/aloe plant and to the concept of patience, endurance, and perseverance. The Semitic root ṣ-b-r relates to binding, accumulating, or enduring harsh conditions. The Hindi/Urdu word "Sabr/Sabar" (सब्र / صبر) (सब्र/सबूर) for "patience" comes from the same root.

In the 1920s and early 1930s, recent Jewish immigrants from Europe initially used the term tzabar as a mild slur or derogatory label for native-born Jews in Mandatory Palestine, implying they were uncultured or rough around the edges. Basically, the European Jews brought along their racist attitude and looked down upon the local indigenous Jews.

Today, while it originally described the pre-1948 generation of native-born pioneers, sabra is used broadly in Modern Hebrew to describe any Israeli-born Jew.

Curiously, the Opuntia ficus-indica, the prickly pear cactus, despite having "indica" in its name, is native to Mexico and Central America, not from South Asia/Indian subcontinent.

The reference to India in its botanical name (Opuntia ficus-indica) is the result of a historical misnomer dating back to the late 15th century.

When Christopher Columbus and early Spanish explorers landed in the Americas in 1492, they mistakenly believed they had reached the East Indies (India and East Asia) by sailing west. As a result, they referred to the native Caribbean islands and surrounding regions as the "West Indies" and the indigenous populations as "Indians."

Early European botanists and explorers classified the unusual, sweet, fruit-bearing cactus as a type of fig (ficus) coming from these newly encountered lands (indica/"of India"). When Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus formalized the binomial nomenclature system in 1753, he retained the common historical name Opuntia ficus indica, which literally translates to "Indian fig Opuntia."

A plant and its fruit which are neither from India nor a fig, its naming confusion extended into several European languages, where the fruit is still named after "India":

Spanish: Higo chumbo or Tuna (from the Indigenous Taíno word), but also historically referred to as Higo de la India.

French: Figue de Barbarie (Barbary fig) or Figue d'Inde (Fig of India).

Italian: Fico d'India (Fig of India). Portuguese: Figo da Índia (literally "Fig of India")

Catalan: Figa de la Índia

Greek: Frangosyko / Φραγκόσυκο ("Frankish/Foreign Fig," though historically translated via Latin as Sykon Indikon / "Indian Fig")

Dutch: Indische vijg (literally "Indian Fig")

German: Indische Feige (literally "Indian Fig")