Faux Hebrew is a
Latin script
The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...
typeface that
mimics the calligraphic curves and large serif of
Hebrew characters. The style is used for decorative purposes, such as in artwork,
foreign branding advertisements, and
antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
propaganda, often to evoke themes of
Jewishness or represent
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
In some cases, actual Hebrew letters are substituted for Latin letters. For example, the
alef
Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, Hebrew ''ʾālef'' , Aramaic ''ʾālap'' 𐡀, Syriac ''ʾālap̄'' ܐ, Arabic ''ʾalif'' , and North Arabian 𐪑 ...
א is used for X,
shin ש is used for W, and
samekh
Samekh or samech is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''sāmek'' 𐤎, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''sāmeḵ'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''samek'' 𐡎, and Syriac alphabet, Syr ...
ס is used for O.
The first Faux Hebrew typeset was Papirtis Maseltov, created in 1963 by Charles Papirtis.
Criticism
Like other typefaces that mimic non-Latin characters, the use of Faux Hebrew has been a subject of criticism. Some view the use of Faux Hebrew script as appropriating Jewish culture without understanding its historical or religious significance.
Jessica Helfand
Jessica Helfand (born 1960 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an artist, writer, and designer. A founding editor of the Design Observer, she is the author of numerous books on visual and cultural criticism.
Early life and education
Born in Philad ...
in a 2007
Design Observer
Design Observer is a website devoted to a range of design topics including graphic design, social innovation, urbanism, popular culture, and criticism. The content of the site includes essays, articles, reviews, blog posts, and peer reviewed sc ...
essay compared using Faux Hebrew to
Don Imus's comments on the Rutgers women's basketball team, stating, "what's the difference between a celebrity making an unforgivable racist remark and a typographer making a font that clumsily perpetuates a cultural stereotype?"
Professor
Sarah Bunin Benor rejected book cover design that used Faux Hebrew stating, “it’s just not appropriate because it has this mocking or comedic effect.”
See also
*
Wonton font
*
Faux Cyrillic
Faux Cyrillic, pseudo-Cyrillic, pseudo-Russian or faux Russian typography is the use of Cyrillic letters in Latin text, usually to evoke the Soviet Union or Russia, though it may be used in other contexts as well. It is a common Western trope ...
*
Pseudo-Hebrew
References
{{typography-stub
Typography
Mimicry typefaces
Hebrew alphabet