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Israeli ministers approve mandatory Arabic studies from first grade

Kelfuma

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Ministers approve mandatory Arabic studies from first grade - Israel News - Jerusalem Post

A bill approved on Sunday by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation would make it mandatory for schools to teach Arabic from the first grade.

The measure was introduced by MK Oren Hazan (Likud), who said that in supporting the legislation in the middle of a wave of terrorism, the government was signaling that it seeks coexistence and calm.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett was also among the bill’s supporters.

Hazan encouraged lawmakers from the coalition and opposition to put politics aside and vote in favor of the measure when it is put to a preliminary Knesset vote on Wednesday. He saw Arabic studies from an early age as providing a bridge between different parts of Israel’s population.

This is a very good development :)
 
Indeed, I hope my son will be able to teach me ;)

To what extent do they teach Arabic in the IDF? I know that teaching it might be a bit of a hassle since almost everyone joins the IDF at some point or another, but being able to speak it even at a rudimentary level could be very useful for soldiers.
 
To what extent do they teach Arabic in the IDF? I know that teaching it might be a bit of a hassle since almost everyone joins the IDF at some point or another, but being able to speak it even at a rudimentary level could be very useful for soldiers.
Only in the inteligence corps they teach Arabic.
Combatants pick a few phrases alone
 
To what extent do they teach Arabic in the IDF? I know that teaching it might be a bit of a hassle since almost everyone joins the IDF at some point or another, but being able to speak it even at a rudimentary level could be very useful for soldiers.

I would imagine any language that is widely spoken either in your immediate region or on the world scene would be useful. Most common response to "Do you speak English?" when I was in Israel: "Of course." The tone of their response was perfectly manicured to imply the "duh" at the end.

As a traveler abroad where my lexicon in any country consists of "thanks, yes, no, good night," it is always a source of awkwardness having to choose between asking whether they speak English knowing full well that they probably do, and just assuming like an asshole that of course they speak my language. This was much easier in Finland whose people are among the nicest on the planet, but the vast majority of the Israelis I dealt with have the stereotypical chutzpah New York Jews are known for, so I just ended up feeling weird most of the time.
 
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I would imagine any language that is widely spoken either in your immediate region or on the world scene would be useful. Most common response to "Do you speak English?" when I was in Israel: "Of course." The tone of their response was perfectly manicured to imply the "duh" at the end.

As a traveler abroad where my lexicon in any country consists of "thanks, yes, no, good night," it is always a source of awkwardness having to choose between asking whether they speak English knowing full well that they probably do, and just assuming like an asshole that of course they speak my language. This was much easier in Finland whose people are among the nicest on the planet, but the vast majority of the Israelis I dealt with have the stereotypical chutzpah New York Jews are known for, so I just ended up feeling weird most of the time.

Try speaking English with the French. Even when they know what you're saying they're going to pretend that they don't.
 
Try speaking English with the French. Even when they know what you're saying they're going to pretend that they don't.

Yes, they're well known for that. Also, Florentines won't pretend to not understand you, but they will act noticeably disgusted by your sub par pronunciation when speaking Italian, even when I'd been speaking Italian long enough to know that while I'm sure I had may fair share of an accent, my pronunciations were perfectly good enough to be understood.. Neither is fair play.
 
I would imagine any language that is widely spoken either in your immediate region or on the world scene would be useful. Most common response to "Do you speak English?" when I was in Israel: "Of course." The tone of their response was perfectly manicured to imply the "duh" at the end.

As a traveler abroad where my lexicon in any country consists of "thanks, yes, no, good night," it is always a source of awkwardness having to choose between asking whether they speak English knowing full well that they probably do, and just assuming like an asshole that of course they speak my language. This was much easier in Finland whose people are among the nicest on the planet, but the vast majority of the Israelis I dealt with have the stereotypical chutzpah New York Jews are known for, so I just ended up feeling weird most of the time.

I think its a shame that we speak English better than we speak Arabic.
 
I think its a shame that we speak English better than we speak Arabic.

I would say knowing Arabic would bring Israel closer to Arabic countries. Common language tends to make for more closely integrated civilizations.
 
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