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Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister is
variously embraced and reviled for his views, depending on one’s political
views. He is embraced by the right for—among other things—his support for
settlements; access to Jewish holy sites; and the deportation of terrorists.
The left, meanwhile reviles Ben-Gvir for his supposed extremism and racism,
though the MK has openly stated that he does not support the
deportation of Arabs, only terrorists. The stark difference in perspective
is best illustrated through news reports on Ben-Gvir’s recent visit to the
Temple Mount. It all boils down to how the different outlets translated the
Hebrew “Ba’al HaBayit.”
מתפלל. pic.twitter.com/Ms4zX2nag2
— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) May 21, 2023
According to the Hebrew Ynet report, what Ben-Gvir
actually said in his statement during his visit to the Temple Mount, was “We
are the ‘ba’alei habayit of the house, here. All of the threats of Hamas will
not help; we are the ba’alei habayit of Jerusalem and of the whole of the Land
of Israel,” “ba’alei” being the plural form of “ba’al.”
The literal translation of “ba’al habayit” is “Master of the
House.” But that is not the sense of this title. A host is referred to as a “ba’al
habayit,” or head of household; the one who sets the tone for his family and
guests. A landlord is also called a “ba’al habayit,” the owner, as distinct
from his tenants. A ba’al habayit can also be someone who concerns himself with
the mundane and earning a living, as opposed to someone who engages in the full
time study of Torah.
The auto-Google translate interprets Ynet’s Hebrew “ba’alei”
as “owners.”
The Jewish
Press, a right-wing publication that supports Ben-Gvir, similarly likes the
word “owners” for the translation of “ba’alei habayit.” They have Ben-Gvir’s
quote as follows: “We are the owners
of Jerusalem and the entire Land of Israel.”
The right-wing Israel National News
(Arutz 7), prefers to translate “ba’alei” as those in charge: “We are in charge of Jerusalem and of all of
the land of Israel." In agreement are Reuters and the Times of Israel—though
they probably see “in charge” as exclusionary and maybe even racist.
The Jpost translates “ba’alei habayit” in its most literal sense. “We are the masters of Jerusalem,” blares the headline, betraying the news outlet’s left-of-center bias. They want Ben-Gvir to sound imperious and extreme.
Which version of Ben-Gvir’s quote are English-speaking news
consumers most likely to see? How might these different translations color the
way western readers are likely to view this controversial Israeli politician? The
substitution of “owner” and “in charge” for “ba’al habayit” seem to this writer
at least, to be factual; Ben-Gvir is making a statement of fact: Israel owns
and is in charge of Israeli territory, not Hamas, no matter what the terrorists
say or do.
The JPost’s translation of “ba’al” as “master” on the other hand, while accurate, has the effect of making Itamar Ben-Gvir seem like a braggart; someone who is incendiary and in-your-face; someone who is lording Israel’s ownership of the land over the Arabs in order to provoke them. If so, this is blatant anti-Ben-Gvir propaganda that is being fed to a western audience from a biased, left-leaning publication. It has the effect of demonizing the current Israeli government to the entire English-speaking world, and makes Israel in general, look bad.
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