A sabra or tzabar (Hebrew: צַבָּר, plural: tzabarim) is a modern Hebrew term that defines any Jew born in Israel. The term came into widespread use in the 1930s to refer to a Jew who had been born in Israel, including the British Mandate of Palestine and Ottoman Syria; cf. New Yishuv and Old Yishuv, though it may have appeared earlier. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Israelis have used the word to refer to a Jew born anywhere in the Land of Israel.[1][2]
The term alludes to a tenacious, thorny desert plant, known in English as prickly pear, with a thick skin that conceals a sweet, softer interior. The cactus is compared to Israeli Jews, who are supposedly tough on the outside, but delicate and sweet on the inside.[3]
In 2010, over 4 million Israeli Jews (70%) were sabras, with an even greater percentage of Israeli Jewish youths falling into this category.[4] In 2015, about 75% of Israel's Jewish population was native-born.[5][6] In 2024, this had further increased to 80%.[7]
Israelis, however, also appropriate the cactus as a symbol of their connection to the land and the word sabra, meaning a Jewish person born in Israeli territory, comes from the Arabic sabr.
Sabra refers to all Jews who are not immigrants, but who are born in historic Palestine/Israel.