The One Finger

After a day of being "churlish and rude" to my beloved bwo, I was not going to blog to show that I am not obsessed. But, at Shabat dinner, excellently put together with love by bwo, the discussion turned to what is undoubtedly a new anthropological phenomenon here in Israel. We call it the "one finger".

Israeli's are well known for their extensive use of simple gestures that speak volumes. There's the well known shrug of the shoulders that expresses the hopelessness of the world and man's inhumanity to man. There's the palm upward cupping of all five fingers that beseeches you to be reasonable and wait a moment. There's the "wave", left hand out of driver side window wave, palm opened followed by quick flicks of the wrist, indicating move along now (these are not the droids you're looking for), typically accompanied by the words "Sahh, Sahh".

Recently we have noticed a new gesture. A single finger (usually the first finger of the right hand) nonchalantly lifted from the steering wheel to express a simple "thanks" or "you're welcome". The face remains dead pan, no muscle moves, but for this single finger. It's very powerful, you should try it.