Monday, April 02, 2007
In Mideast, a Growing Linguistic Divide - Washington Post
Shrinking Numbers of Israelis, Palestinians Studying Each Other's Language
... As their physical separation grows, a shrinking number of Israelis and Palestinians are studying each other's language, a casualty of the enduring hostility between two peoples still sharing one land. Those Israelis and Palestinians studying Arabic and Hebrew, both official languages of the Jewish state, are doing so for reasons that reveal vastly different outlooks on the future.
"The attitude on both sides toward the other language, and by extension those who speak it, is very disappointing," said Sasson Somekh, who helped found the Arabic department at Tel Aviv University nearly 40 years ago. Now retired, he is lobbying against its closure. "Both sides are just very afraid of the other," he said.
...
Today, among those Israeli Jews studying Arabic, many more than a decade ago are doing so for one reason: preparing for service in the Israeli security agencies. ...
Shrinking Numbers of Israelis, Palestinians Studying Each Other's Language
... As their physical separation grows, a shrinking number of Israelis and Palestinians are studying each other's language, a casualty of the enduring hostility between two peoples still sharing one land. Those Israelis and Palestinians studying Arabic and Hebrew, both official languages of the Jewish state, are doing so for reasons that reveal vastly different outlooks on the future.
"The attitude on both sides toward the other language, and by extension those who speak it, is very disappointing," said Sasson Somekh, who helped found the Arabic department at Tel Aviv University nearly 40 years ago. Now retired, he is lobbying against its closure. "Both sides are just very afraid of the other," he said.
...
Today, among those Israeli Jews studying Arabic, many more than a decade ago are doing so for one reason: preparing for service in the Israeli security agencies. ...
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