Hamsin

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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Khamaseen. (Discuss)

Hamsin (from Arabic: ‏ريح حارة, khamsin or khamseen) is a Middle Eastern term for the dry, hot wind that blows in from the desert. It can refer to the wind that blows from the Sahara across Egypt in the spring, typically from March through May; or in Israel, for the easterly wind that brings dust from the Arabian desert to cities and oppressive pressure on the people.

1 Etymology
2 Usages
3 External links
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Etymology

Derives from the Arabic for "(wind of) fifty days".^[1]

[edit] Usages

Hamsin (חמסין) is frequently used as a metaphor for political and social situations in the Middle East, particularly between the Arab and Jewish populations in Israel. It was the the title of a 1982 Israeli film about a clash between a Jewish landowner and his Arab workers in a small farming village in the Galilee.^[2] The film was selected by the Israeli Film Board as their nominee for the Academy Award for best foreign language film in 1983. ^[3]

The Hebrew word sharav (שרב) is synonymous, and a commonly used alternative in Israel.

[edit] External links

Fifty Days and Fifty Nights - Extensive discussion in Jewish Daily Forward
Before the Storm - IsraelInsider.com

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Fifty Days and Fifty Nights. JewishForward.com (Apr 04, 2003). Retrieved on February 26, 2007.
^ Kronish, Amy. Arabs on Israeli Screens. Retrieved on February 26, 2007.
^ "Oscar Film Critical of Israel", New York Times, January 24, 1983. Retrieved on February 26, 2007. “The Israel Film Board, a 10-member advisory board appointed by the Government, has selected Hamsin, a film critical of Israel as its nominee for the best foreign-language picture in Hollywood's Academy Awards competition. The choice comes at a time when Israelis are increasingly sensitive to the way they are seen overseas. Hamsin examines relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel--relations that the film's director, Daniel Wachsmann, an Israeli Jew, portrays as a circle of fear...”