Gil Hoffman writes in the Jerusalem post this morning how Tzipi Livni's strategist recalled the original English name of her new party 'Hatnua - The movement, over Twitter and Facebook jibe, to "The Tzipi Livni Party, and ultimately forced the Jerusalem Post, one of Israel's leading English read news sites, to act accordance.
"The strategists overlooked Hebrew slang in which “the movement” refers to giving someone a middle finger. The people naming the former foreign minister’s party also did not consider what it should be called in English.
At first, The Jerusalem Post website and wire services simply translated Livni’s list’s name and called it “The Movement.”
This resulted in unbecoming, scatological jokes on Facebook and Twitter about bowel movements.
When Livni’s strategists were informed of this, they suggested that it be called “Hatnua” in English, which would have tongue-tied foreign observers of the party. But they ultimately agreed on The Tzipi Livni Party, and the Post website was updated accordingly.
The strategists decided on the name because the word “party” has no negative connotations in English, and their goal was to highlight Livni.
But some English-speakers had a hard time accepting the name “The Tzipi Livni Party.”
One foreign media outlet called Livni’s associates in disbelief because they thought it belonged to a dictatorship like in North Korea
