Jerusalem promotes the study of (spoken) Arabic in Jewish schools
The project, launched last year and now strengthened, aims to foster relations between the communities, especially among young people. A total of 30 schools are expected to join, taught by Arab academics from the eastern sector. In Tel Aviv, a school map showing the "Green Line" became a source of controversy between the municipality and the Ministry of Education.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - In an attempt to create greater ties and facilitate relations between Israelis and Palestinians, at least in the classroom, the municipality of Jerusalem is launching a new course in educational programming, called "Ahlan" [Hello, ed]. It intends to encourage the teaching of Arabic - spoken in common usage, not literary - in Jewish schools in the holy city starting next week, coinciding with the official start of the new 2022/23 school year.
The curriculum, devised by the local Education Office, was created to shine a 'positive light' and foster a connection with the Arabic language, nurturing links between the eastern and western sectors of Jerusalem.
Above all, the aim is to provide children with new means of communication because the emphasis is on spoken Arabic rather than written and literary Arabic, which is already present in many Arabic language curricula in Jewish schools.
It is an important step by the municipal administration of a city that appears united on paper, but in which deep rifts emerge between communities linked to religion or ethnicity. These, not infrequently, result in attacks or violence towards the opposing side as emerged recently when Jewish youths target Arab tram drivers or the raid against Israelis by some Palestinians near the tomb of Samuel, north of Jerusalem.
In recent years, the custom of studying Arabic in Jewish schools had been declining, so much so that in the last five years, one-third fewer Jewish students took the Arabic language exam, which was more studied in literature than in speech. Further evidence of the decline of Arabic in Israel emerges at the legislative level, with the 2018 National Law downgrading it from an official language to a language with "special status", keeping only Hebrew as an official language in its own right.
The Jerusalem municipality's new curriculum kicked off last year as a pilot project, within 21 schools in West Jerusalem, and relied on the language teaching contribution of 12 Arab university students from the city's eastern sector. In return for a scholarship, they provided 120 hours of language teaching per year in various classrooms around the city. For the new year, 30 schools from the fifth to the eighth grade are expected to join and at least 50 Arab students are expected to participate.
The Madrasa organisation and the 'Common Study' programme have overseen the drafting of the curriculum and, to facilitate the project, each school will be able to adapt it as it sees fit, making extensive use of songs, games and other playful tools in learning. With a view to 'understanding' and 'breaking down' walls, the role of language is increasingly considered to be of 'fundamental importance' and to be learned in a 'shared reality'.
The project has also received praise from Mayor Moshe Leon, who in a note circulated through his spokesperson emphasises that by learning Arabic, students "can learn about a rich history and culture, but above all speak and engage in productive dialogue".
Staying on the subject of education, while Jerusalem seeks inclusion in Tel Aviv, a new map of Israel drawn up for school use has raised fierce controversy. The map, which uses the term 'sovereignty line', was criticised by the Ministry of Education because it is unauthorised and 'prejudicial'.
It shows the so-called 'Green Line', the pre-1967 border line established by the 1949 Arab-Israeli agreements, which does not constitute a border in the strict sense of the word, but establishes the de facto existing situation until 1967. In the past, the ministry itself had passed a rule prohibiting the display of the 'Green Line' in maps for school use.
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04/09/2020 10:47
