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| The original expression was uttered as a response to Prime Minister ], who had stated in the previous cabinet session that if it hadn't been for the ], the State of Israel would not have been founded. According to Sharett's account in his diary, Ben-Gurion shouted: "Not at all! Only the daring of the Jews founded this country, and not some ''Um-Shmum'' resolution."<ref>Moshe Sharett, ''Yoman ishi'' , vol. 3, Tel-Aviv: Sifriyat Ma'ariv, 1978, p. 874 (Hebrew).</ref> | The original expression was uttered as a response to Prime Minister ], who had stated in the previous cabinet session that if it hadn't been for the ], the State of Israel would not have been founded. According to Sharett's account in his diary, Ben-Gurion shouted: "Not at all! Only the daring of the Jews founded this country, and not some ''Um-Shmum'' resolution."<ref>Moshe Sharett, ''Yoman ishi'' , vol. 3, Tel-Aviv: Sifriyat Ma'ariv, 1978, p. 874 (Hebrew).</ref> | ||
| A month later, on 27 April 1955, Israel's 7th ], Ben-Gurion gave a speech in ] during the main event of the ]. The speech was primarily a response to the anti-Israeli declarations made in the ] (the founding conference of the ]), which took place a few days earlier. In the concluding sentence, he stated: "Our future does not depend on what the '']'' ]] will say, but rather on what the Jews will do."<ref>David Ben-Gurion, ''Hazon ve-derekh'' , vol. 5, Tel-Aviv: Ayanot, 1956, p. 166 (Hebrew).</ref> | |||
| This sentence also became a ] (often in a different translation: "It does not matter what the Gentiles will say, but rather what the Jews will do."). | |||
| Ben-Gurion viewed the UN as heavily biased against Israel, as have many other Israeli politicians over the decades, including current Prime Minister ], who referred to the UN as a "theater of absurd" and "a place of darkness for my country" in his 2011 UN speech.<ref>, Dispatch Online website.</ref> | |||
| In 1998, ] quoted this phrase while visiting the ] (Israeli Parliament) and made a rebutting ] himself by saying that in the world that we live in today, "without the UM we will all have ''klum''" (''klum'' is part of expressions that mean "nothing" in Hebrew).<ref>{{Hebrew|כלום}} (pronounced kloom).</ref><ref>, MWC News Website.</ref> | In 1998, ] quoted this phrase while visiting the ] (Israeli Parliament) and made a rebutting ] himself by saying that in the world that we live in today, "without the UM we will all have ''klum''" (''klum'' is part of expressions that mean "nothing" in Hebrew).<ref>{{Hebrew|כלום}} (pronounced kloom).</ref><ref>, MWC News Website.</ref> | ||
Revision as of 17:15, 4 October 2018
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Um-Shmum (Template:Lang-he-n, where um is the Hebrew acronymic pronunciation for "U.N.", and the "shm"-prefix signifies dismissal, contempt or irony) is a phrase coined by the Israeli Minister of Defense (and former Prime Minister) David Ben-Gurion on 29 March 1955 during a debate within the Israeli cabinet regarding his plan to take the Gaza Strip from Egypt in response to the increasing fedayeen terror attacks. This utterance towards the United Nations is an expression that reflects, even as to date, the way many Israelis feel about the institution.
The original expression was uttered as a response to Prime Minister Moshe Sharett, who had stated in the previous cabinet session that if it hadn't been for the UN resolution of 1947, the State of Israel would not have been founded. According to Sharett's account in his diary, Ben-Gurion shouted: "Not at all! Only the daring of the Jews founded this country, and not some Um-Shmum resolution."
In 1998, Kofi Annan quoted this phrase while visiting the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and made a rebutting pun himself by saying that in the world that we live in today, "without the UM we will all have klum" (klum is part of expressions that mean "nothing" in Hebrew).
See also
References
- Template:Hebrew pronounced "oom", acronym for Template:Hebrew (pr. "oomot") "nations, peoples", and Template:Hebrew (pr. "m'ookhadot") "united"; "the U.N." is Template:Hebrew (pronounced "ha-oomot ha-m'ookhadot").
- Moshe Sharett, Yoman ishi , vol. 3, Tel-Aviv: Sifriyat Ma'ariv, 1978, p. 874 (Hebrew).
- Template:Hebrew (pronounced kloom).
- Full Transcript: Netanyahu's 2011 UN Speech, MWC News Website.