The ‘Italian’ hand gesture’s also Israeli — plus, more Jewish emojis, please?

The “Italian hand gesture” emoji will also be embraced by Israelis. Image by Angelie Zaslavsky

By Esther Kustanowitz, Helen ChernikoffJanuary 30, 2020

The Unicode Consortium, also known as “the emoji people,” released its list of 65 new icons on Thursday, thrilling at least two groups with their inclusion of what they’re calling the “Italian hand gesture” of pinched fingers and a raised hand. Of course, Italians love it — they use it to signal disagreement.

New emojis for 2020. Image by Emojipedia

But a certain other Mediterranean group, likewise stereotyped as excitable and prone to gesticulation, will find the little image handy (sorry, not sorry) as well. For Israelis, it means something almost untranslatable that’s sort of like “hang on/be patient/just a minute.”

The Unicode Consortium has already blessed the Jewish people with a bunch of emojis, like a synagogue, a star of David and a menorah. People weren’t thrilled with the bagel, sure, but it’s more than offset by the Vulcan hand gesture, which has its origins in the Jewish priestly blessing.

Still, it’s a great day to start planning for next year’s release. Some ideas, inspired by 2020, from Los Angeles writer Esther Kustanowitz.

Person with ugly Hanukkah sweater Change the skin tone to whatever you want; Jews come in all shades.

Three iMessage dots, but the dots are Stars of David A way to say, “Nu? You don’t write, you don’t call…”

Fondue pot with a star of David The new fondue pot emoji has a cross/plus sign on it; this tweak indicates that the fondue is made from lactose-reduced or vegan cheese and safe for the lactose intolerant.

Anatomical digestive system The new emoji list has anatomical heart and lungs. But the Jewish community needs more.

Matzah For a certain time of year, and in extreme cases, to be used in tandem with the anatomical digestive system.

Sweater or jacket For Jewish parents reminding their children to dress appropriately for the weather.

Bowl of chicken soup with matzah balls “Get your flu shot!”

Mel Brooks as the 2000-Year-Old Man The Jewish way to say “OK boomer.”

Larry David/Bernie Sanders A two-for-one image for anyone who feels the Bern or their own misanthropy.

Steven Spielberg with baseball hat The emoji that says, “dress any way you want; you’re a famous movie producer.”

Esther D. Kustanowitz is a writer, editor and consultant who lives in Los Angeles. She also co-hosts The Bagel Report, a Jewish pop culture podcast and writes about #TVGoneJewy, the increase of Jewish content on television.

Helen Chernikoff is the Forward’s News Editor. She came to the Forward from The Jewish Week, where she served as the first web director and created both a blog dedicated to disability issues and a food and wine website. Before that, she covered the housing, lodging and logistics industries for Reuters, where she could sit at her desk and watch her stories move the stock market. Helen has a Master’s of Public Administration from Columbia University and a BA in History and French from Amherst College. She is also a rabbinical school dropout. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @thesimplechild.

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. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO