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Jewish Israelis are heading to Arabic class — and learning a bit more about Palestinians

JL;DR SUMMARY Amidst growing awareness of cultural and societal divides, an increasing number of Jewish Israelis are seeking to learn Arabic as adults, recognizing the language as vital for improving relations with Palestinian neighbors. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

JerusalemIsraeli SocietyPalestiniansHebrew LanguageJewish Arab RelationsCultural ExchangeLanguage EducationSocial CohesionArabic LanguageLanguage Initiatives

Places mentioned

Jerusalem, Israel
"A Palestinian woman teaches Jewish Israelis to dance the debka in Jerusalem in June 2022 at the first-ever Festival of the Arabic Language and Culture."
West Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
"Sevitt, who started the online community for Arabic learners, said that besides building bridges to Palestinians, there is another reason for Israeli Jews to learn Arabic."
East Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
"What motivates her now? Learning more about my neighbors and their language is crucial, because we are going to have to live together, she said."
Palestinian Territories
"The trend is particularly noticeable in Jerusalem, where, according to linguist Anwar Ben Badis, one of Israels best known teachers of the language, there are at least 20 such initiatives, enrolling thousands of students."
Southern District, Israel
"In his 2014 book The Creation of Israeli Arabic: Security and Politics in Arabic Studies in Israel, Yonatan Mendel, a senior lecturer in the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, writes that this militarized pedagogy alienates Jewish-Israeli students from Arabs rather than serving as a potential bridge between them."

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Cairo Item ID 82526
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Retrieved 2026-05-19 05:31:35 UTC
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