I wouldn't quite call it majestic, nor classically anything. It' the hoopoe, "duchafit," Israel's new "National Bird."
My neighbors told me when driving me home today. The best they could say was that it's a "land-lover." So, lets spin this into something good. Israel's national bird loves the Land of Israel.
8 comments:
I think that they should have chosen the dove as the National Bird. It is mentioned in the Torah many times, and is an international symbol of peace.
That weird looking thing symbolizes nothing.
Sorry to disagree, but the dove is a dumb, shortsighted bird and has terrible, suicidal, political connotations.
I gotta agree with Batya on that one.
Thanks, maoz; yearning for peace has just gotten us killed. Let the pigeons poop in Central Park.
B''H, Israel hasn't followed Ben Franklyn's suggestion (why should they?) and choose the turkey as their National Bird (are turkeys indigenous to Israel? I doubt it).
A turkey in English and an Indian in Hebrew, sounds Jewish, but does it fly?
Shalom, Batya and all!
Perhaps we have a few things in common with the dove. Wikipedia:
"The pigeons and doves are distributed everywhere on Earth except for the driest areas of the Sahara Desert, Antarctica and its surrounding islands and the high Arctic. They have colonised most of the world's oceanic islands (with the notable exception of Hawaii),...
The family has adapted to most of the habitats available on the planet.
Some species have large natural ranges. Other species have a tiny restricted distribution,...
This family is a highly coherent group with no members showing obvious links with other bird families, or vice versa."
I seem to remember that doves mate for life, but I can't find confirmation. And lets not forget the prophet Yonah.
If America hadn't already claimed the eagle that would be a good choice. We are destined to come home to Israel on the wings of eagles after all, although perhaps it would be best if the National Bird of Israel is kosher.
Quail, which were much larger in Biblical times, might be a good choice if it weren't for the association with us whining in the wilderness.
Better yet, let's leave silly customs like national birds to the Nations and concentrate on important things, like Torah and building a truly Jewish country.
Hadassa
P.S. Although the hoopoe is an odd looking bird not suitable to representing much of anything I happen to like it and was always pleased to see one hopping across my lawn in K'far Darom. I've hardly seen them since.
Hadassa, good points. The business of "national birds" is goyish. What we do need is a national ideal, a Jewish dream to fulfull the mitzvah to establish a Jewish Kingdom in the entire Land of Israel.
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