Yesterday (28/5/2019) I participated in a discussion group of one of the youth movements in Haifa, "Dialogue Tent". The purpose of the event was to have a discussion about Ramadan and various issues in Israeli society
Such as: elections, driver's license age, online bullying, etc...
The main and important problem I noticed that came up during the discussion is that in my circle there was a serious communication problem between the group members.
It was absurd in my eyes that we are in a conversation circle and Arab and Jewish youths are sitting and participating, who are unable to hold a conversation without an interpreter who translates into both languages.
How can it be that in Haifa, a mixed city, children and teenagers my age (17,18) are not able to understand Hebrew and I am not able to understand a word in Arabic?!
When we talked about it a bit, we really understood that the problem is with the Ministry of Education.
The Arab sector does not learn Hebrew in a way that suits them. They have been learning Arabic since first grade and according to them, due to a lack of practice and use of the language over the years, some of them are unable to finish a sentence.
To the same extent, I believe that the Jewish sector also needs to learn Arabic in a more appropriate way.
Today school students learn literary Arabic which is not close to spoken Arabic.
The language is not conveyed in an interesting way that allows us to understand the language and have a mutual conversation.
In conclusion
I think there is a serious problem in society. The basic inability of the two sectors to hold a common discourse without the need for a constant translation of everything that is said, is a problem and a serious problem in my eyes.
I believe that the beginning of understanding in any subject is the beginning of One understood the other.
The Arabs will learn Hebrew and not speak all the time in their Khartoum language. They live in the State of Israel. Hebrew is first and foremost
It is true, Shai, this is a serious problem and it has existed and been known for years and nothing has been done, apparently from the point of view of the Ministry of Education learning the Arabic language spoken in the local dialect is not considered a worthy goal.
I am surprised to hear that there are Arab teenagers who had difficulty expressing themselves in Hebrew, perhaps they simply felt more comfortable speaking freely in Arabic?