Donald Trump with flying toupee Image by Getty Images

By Aviya Kushner January 12, 2018

If you’re wondering what “shithole countries” are in Hebrew, here’s the answer from Israeli newspaper Haaretz: medinot mechurbanot.

Countries = medinot. And, well, shitty = mechurban. Of course, churban is “destruction” in Hebrew, as in the destruction of the Temple. Or Temples.

For the uninitiated, churban is a college-appropriate word, but mechurban is not.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Maybe a nicer way of translating Trump is to take a cue from Temple history and say “post-destruction,” which seems to apply these days not only to Temples but also to presidencies.

Mechurban is not exactly elevated, fit-for-company Hebrew, but it sounds a little better than the word Trump chose: “shithole.” In both Haaretz and Yediot Aharonot, another Israeli paper, the main story was about how Trump was responding to reactions to his language.

But on the street, on a 15-minute walk through Tel Aviv, the word “shithole” — in English — was heard every few minutes. Not mechurban, and not churban.

Trump, untranslated, remains the main story. Not Trump trying to spin what Trump said. Apparently, appalling language doesn’t need a translation, even after a year of it. The destruction of America’s presidential language is apparent, across the world.

That is the true hole we are in, right now.

Aviya Kushner is the Forward’s language columnist and the author of “The Grammar of God” (Spiegel & Grau, 2015). Follow her on Twitter, @AviyaKushner

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount