Israel has seen a sharp increase in the number of students learning Arabic over the last seven years. In 2011, some 2,000 students were studying Arabic, while in 2018, 3,000 were learning the language.
The increase in students choosing to study Arabic stems, among other things, from the Education Ministry's investment in Arabic-language teaching at the middle-school level. As part of their studies, students not only learn the language but also about the Arab and Islamic world.
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According to Maj. A. from the Israel Defense Forces' Intelligence Unit's Training Division, "The students like the language and want to focus on it in the future. They can also make it into all the security agencies."
A. is responsible for the unit's "Future" program, which aims to teach students in the periphery Arabic and Persian and give them the opportunity to be selected for the Intelligence Unit's language tracks, meaning some of them will be drafted into the elite Unit 8200.
"This unique program was developed by the IDF's Intelligence Unit and it now operates in three schools in Beit Shemesh, the Western Galilee and Beersheba, and the entire teaching staff that teaches the students Arabic and Persian is comprised of military personnel. We also have mentors who are in schools and accompanying students. Around 200 of the unit's soldiers take part in the program and serve as role models. It's inspiring."
According to Avi Or, the principal at Branco Weiss High School in Beit Shemesh, "Around a decade ago, we entered into cooperation with the Unit 8200. The goal is to make the Arabic language accessible to students and open the possibility of serving in Unit 8200 to them, which up until then was an elitist unit that was not open to them. The students acquire knowledge of the Arabic language … therefore enabling them to carry out their military service in significant positions, as well as [serve in significant positions] after their discharge."
"No less importantly, a command of the Arabic language allows them to directly connect with the Arabic-speaking population that lives with us. The collaboration has led the program's students to [receive] 100% eligibility for the matriculation certificates, and the level of language the students achieve is much higher than the level taught in other schools, and that is thanks to the uniqueness of the program and the method of teaching in this class," he said.
