Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Israel Air Force targets a Fajr-5 launcher during Operation Pillar of Defense. (screen capture: Youtube/idfnadesk)
The recent round of fighting between Israel and Hamas has spawned the use of new monikers among Gazan parents eagerly looking for “cultural icons” after which to name their babies.
Israel Air Force targets a Fajr-5 launcher during Operation Pillar of Defense. (screen capture: YouTube/idfnadesk)
Fajr, after the Fajr-5 missiles that Hamas fired at Israel during the conflict, is proving a popular name for newborns, Ynet reported on Sunday. So, too, is Jabari, after the Hamas terror commander killed in a drone strike at the start of Operation Pillar of Defense.
Muhammad al-Shafi’i Abu Nassat bestowed the fashionable Fajr on his new son, born last Friday. Abu Nassat told Gaza media that naming his son after the missiles was his way of showing gratitude to Iran, which supplied Gaza with the rockets it fired at Israel.
Adham Murtaja of Gaza City went for jolly Jabari when it came to naming his son, also born on Friday. Murtaja said he wanted to show Israel that the Jabari assassination would not prevent the Palestinian people from producing more “heroes.”
The Gazan trend of naming babies after current weapons and their users does not seem to be reflected among southern Israeli communities. But perhaps that’s because “Iron Dome,” “Laser Guided Bomb,” or even the short and simple “Drone” just don’t have the same ring to them.
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