From: Lachlan Atcliffe <u1m87@ugm.keele.ac.uk>

From: Lachlan Atcliffe <u1m87@ugm.keele.ac.uk>
> I hate to pitch in on this one, but an Israeli friend of mine also

More on this. While the events in Lebanon 22 years ago do have
Vietnam-like overtones, the term Sabra as 'native Israeli' predates
those events for decades - even to before the formation of Israel (then
used to denote native-born Palestinian Jew), and it is still
extensively used in that context. I suppose that the term is tarnished for
those who bear the scars of the past, but I don't think the event has actually
changed the contemporary meaning of the word. I'm not and don't intend to
sound callous about the events themselves, but don't think they've had the
effect on the language at large that your friend says. It gives me pause is
that he is a native himself, but I've enough
self-described Sabra relatives to have doubts.

I don't know if this is a good parallel, but the term "Yankee" had a major
negative connotation for the southern US for a long time, and still does in
some places and cases. That term of identification
pre-dated, and then survived the Civil War, and is not normally
connected with Union military behavior of that era.