Israeli photographers seek to define 'chutzpah'
A recent photo exhibition examined whether "chutzpah," an Israeli word that has been exported into English and other languages, refers to vulgarity and disrespect or originality and guts.
"Chutzpah" is not just a Hebrew word. Other languages also recognize the word as a trait that is ubiquitous in the Jewish persona. The word appears in the Book of Daniel (2:15), albeit with a different meaning, and later in the Babylonian Talmud. Chutzpah eventually made its way into Yiddish and is frequently used in English and German.
"Chutzpah" has also appeared in fiction and nonfiction: Science fiction author Isaac Asimov had a spaceship named “Chutzpah” in his “Nine Tomorrows” book of short stories and "Chutzpah" also is the name of a nonfiction book about the Jewish people in the United States by attorney Alan Dershowitz.
The English-speaking world generally uses chutzpah with a positive connotation — someone who is bold, has grit and acts outside the box. By contrast, in Israel, the term carries more of a negative connotation and describes the actions of people who try to get something they want by ignoring the needs of others or harming them. It describes rude behavior toward others, even vulgarity.
The Holon Institute of Technology, an academic body that integrates art and technology, attempted to examine the meaning of the expression “Israeli chutzpah” through the lens of photographers. Michal Chill, the head of the institute's library and the curator of the exhibition, put out an appeal last year on social networks for photographers — both professional and amateur — to send her their photographs with their interpretation of the term “chutzpah.”
