Borat & Dr. Yarmulke

Wow, people finally realized… Borat speaks Hebrew…

Like moviegoing masses around the world, Israelis have crowded theaters to watch the hit spoof “Borat.” But they are laughing for another reason: They actually understand what the anti-Semitic, misogynist Kazakh journalist is saying.

Few realize that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s wacky comedic creation, Borat Sagdiyev, is not speaking Kazakh or even gibberish, but rather Hebrew, the biblical language of the Jewish people.

The 35-year-old British comedian is no stranger to Israel. He is an observant Jew, his mother was born in Israel and his grandmother still lives in Haifa. In high school, he belonged to a Zionist Jewish youth group, Habonim Dror, and upon graduation spent a year working and studying on a kibbutz, or collective farm, in northern Israel. He has since returned for several visits, his Hebrew is excellent and his understanding of Israeli culture superb.

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The film is peppered with Hebrew expressions and Israeli slang, inside jokes only Israelis could truly appreciate. In one scene, Borat sings the lyrics of the legendary Hebrew folk song “Koom Bachur Atzel,” meaning “get up lazy boy.” Later, he refers to a Kazakh government scientist, “Dr. Yarmulke,” who proved that a woman’s brain is the size of a squirrel’s. Even Borat’s signature catch phrase — “Wa wa wee wa,” an expression for wow — derives from a skit on a popular Israeli comedy show and is often heard in Israel. Read more…

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