NEW YORK — For three months and counting, the term “getting Israeled” has been building support on Urban Dictionary, the popular user-run laboratory of emerging lexicon and slang.
According to one of the dozens of users who defined the term, “Israeling” is a “feeling of ownership over another population’s land, resource access, and lives by way of having a god complex and religious scripture as testament to the right to commit criminal practices without accountability.”
Founded in 1999, Urban Dictionary is known for brash content, particularly relating to women and people of color. One of the top 500 websites in the country, the platform reflects how people use the Internet to redefine or tweak familiar terms, as well as create new slang.
“The term ‘Israeled’ is used to signify claiming something that is not one’s own, in a hostile way,” Jonah Steinberg, director of the Anti-Defamation League for New England told The Times of Israel.
“The implication is that Jews have no legitimacy in Israel,” said Steinberg. “The usage also suggests that Israel inherently represents unjust appropriation and that offensive behavior typifies Israel. It’s an antisemitic use of our people’s ancient name,” he said.
Dozens of user entries for “Israeled” appeared on Urban Dictionary after October 7, when 3,000 Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and murdered 1,200 people, taking 240 hostage into Gaza.
Soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo released for publication January 10, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Various user definitions of “Israeled” were upvoted — or liked — by more than 40,000 users. However, most of the definitions of “Israeled” have more downvotes — or dislikes — than upvotes, indicating the term has not won over a critical mass of Urban Dictionary users.
The iconic website determines the most popular new slang by allowing users to upvote or downvote definitions that can be posted by virtually anyone. The site also pushes commodification of Internet slang by selling — for example — custom-made mugs emblazoned with new slang.
According to one source, Israel supporters were galvanized online in recent weeks to encourage people to downvote “Israeled” on Urban Dictionary. Meanwhile, the links to buy mugs or other products labeled “Israeled” were not working as of publication.
‘Gazalighting’
The term “Israeled” is most often defined as land theft on Urban Dictionary, but it has also been deployed to describe more casual aggressions.
“Someone asked to share my table at a restaurant, and then asked me to leave the table because they had a meeting! Looks like you just got israeled,” wrote one Urban Dictionary user.
For pro-Israel supporters, there is a version of “getting Israeled” regarding the Palestinians and Hamas called “Gazalighting.” A play on the term gaslighting, the term has been upvoted by hundreds of Urban Dictionary users.
Urban Dictionary mug for the slang term ‘Gazalighting.’ (Courtesy)
According to the term’s top definition, Gazalighting is when “a terrorist group from Gaza carried out a massacre, then later denies it and blames the victim.”
The term “Israeled” is not one of the most popular on Urban Dictionary, but its presence is part of widespread antisemitism on the site. Urban Dictionary boasts dozens of definitions for the slur word “kike,” while definitions for the word Jew are often sexually explicit or dehumanizing.
The “getting Israeled” trend since October 7 is the latest manifestation of Urban Dictionary both reflecting and projecting how Internet users around the world think about Jews and Israel.
“This entry on a major online platform, along with other problematic entries about Israel, could help to fuel an environment already inundated with antisemitism by linking Israel with historic antisemitic themes about stealing and deceit,” a NYC-based spokesperson for the ADL told The Times of Israel.
“While it is legitimate to criticize specific Israeli policies, this entry is not that. Rather, it is a biased attempt to use this platform as a tool to spread anti-Israel hate,” said the spokesperson.
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Is Urban Dictionary’s new entry ‘to get Israeled’ an antisemitic trope? ADL weighs in - The Times of Israel
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