Ze'ev

Ze'ev (Hebrew: זְאֵב / זאב‎ zeév) is a masculine given name relatively common among Ashkenazi Jews, especially those living in the State of Israel. It is a Biblical name, adapted from a reference to Benjamin in Genesis as a "wolf that raveneth." It re-appeared in relatively recent times as a translation of the Yiddish name װאָלף "Volf" or "Wolf," meaning literally "Wolf" in English. The name "Wolf" (in German) was relatively common among Germans.

The Bible mentions a person directly named Ze'ev, one of the Midianite leaders defeated by the Judge Gideon (see Oreb and Zeeb). However, the identical modern name is not derived from this character, an ancient enemy whom later Jews had no reason to emulate.

The name Ze'ev or Zeev may refer to:

People

Ze'ev (caricaturist)

Yaakov Farkash (Hebrew: יעקב פרקש‎; born 1923, died 15 October 2002), better known by the pen name Ze'ev (Hebrew: זאב), was an Israeli caricaturist and illustrator.

Biography

Early life and World War II

Farkash was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1923. At an early age Farkash became interested in painting and at the age of 12 drew caricatures which he published in a newspaper he distributed in his neighborhood. At first he did not foresee himself drawing professionally, in part because he was color blind. In addition, his high school art teacher was not particularly impressed with his ability, calling him "the worst painter in class." Nevertheless, Farkash continued to draw, and in his last year in school drew caricatures of his classmates.

When he finished high school, Farkash wanted to study journalism, but as Jews in Hungary were at that time banned from joining the university, he turned to carpentry instead. In retrospect, the carpentry skills he later acquired saved Farkash from serving in the Russian front during the World War II, and instead he was assigned to work as a carpenter in a military camp. Farkash was then sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp and from there to the Dachau concentration camp. After the war Farkash tried to immigrate to Palestine illegally, but was caught by the British forces in Palestine and sent to prison in Cyprus. Throughout this period Farkash continued drawing caricatures in his private diary. He finally managed to immigrate to Israel in 1947 and was recruited to the 7th Armored Brigade, participating in the Battles of Latrun during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.