Google Translate Says Hebrew Words Mean “Malaysia Is My Home” But Malaysians On Social Media Are Not Having It
Recently, footage of a four-wheel-drive Isuzu pickup truck with a bumper sticker that displayed Hebrew words went viral on social media.
The clip uploaded by TikTok user Manaff Moskori has gained more than 65,000 likes and over 3,600 comments.
“I saw something on the way from work this afternoon. In Melaka, not KL. The words and language looks weird. It’s Israeli right? ChatGPT validated this also.
“Is this a provocation? It can’t be a joke, right?” the caption said.
We were curious to know what it says so we put the Hebrew sentence on the sticker through Google Translate and the results were “Malaysia is my home”.
Hebrew is a language strongly associated with Israel
Malaysians took to the comments section to express their detestation towards the vehicle and its owner for displaying the Hebrew language, which is strongly associated with a government currently known for committing genocide on Palestinians.
“Only they (Israelis) use Hebrew. We’ve got to investigate quickly, before they spread,” one user commented.
“Report it to the police. If there’s no action taken yet, we must act fast. We can’t just leave this as it is,” another user said.
Others say it is suspicious that a vehicle registered in Malaysia would display a message in Hebrew so openly, especially in a country with strong anti-Israel sentiments. Some also wondered if the sticker was put there as some form of provocation.
Police have tracked the truck’s registered owner
The vehicle was registered to a man with an address in Gemencheh, Negeri Sembilan, according to a report by Malaysia Gazette.
Melaka police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said checks were conducted after the Merlimau police station received reports of the viral clip on 7 October.
Police have opened an investigation under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for causing fear and public panic.
According to Dzulkhairi, the Section provides for a maximum prison sentence of two years, or a fine, or both, if convicted.
A brief history of the Hebrew language
Hebrew is an ancient Semitic language that dates back over 3,000 years. It was originally spoken by the Israelites and is the primary language of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). During the First Temple period, it served as the daily language of the Jewish people, but after the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE, Hebrew gradually declined in everyday use, replaced largely by Aramaic. Despite this, it remained alive in religious texts, prayer, and scholarship for centuries.
Through the medieval period, Hebrew flourished as a written language used by Jewish scholars, poets, and philosophers, even though it was no longer spoken conversationally. It was preserved as a “holy tongue” for worship and study, maintaining cultural and spiritual continuity among Jewish communities scattered across the world.
Today, Modern Hebrew is the official language of Israel. While rooted in Biblical Hebrew, it has absorbed influences from European languages, Arabic, and English, adapting to modern life with vocabulary for technology, science, and culture.
