On September 20, 2020, The Jerusalem Post newspaper ran an article about a revolution in Arabic-language instruction, with a focus on Arabic for communication, especially at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Learning Arabic at the JICC
In recognition of the JICC’s leadership role in Arabic instruction over the past 15 years and more, we were mentioned in the article as well. Here is an excerpt:
The Center for Arabic Instruction at the Jerusalem Intercultural Center is one place in Israel where interest in learning Arabic has increased, according to the center’s director, Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir.
When the center started teaching Arabic about 15 years ago, it was difficult to open two courses every year. Now, there are 15 to 20 courses at capacity, Agmon-Snir told The Media Line, adding that Israelis understanding that they need to learn Arabic has grown “by a thousand percent.”
He added that there are six or seven other places in Jerusalem teaching Arabic and that they are full, a point of pride.
While most of the students are Hebrew-speaking Israeli Jews, teaching classes on Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic has even allowed for a few people abroad to enroll in the courses, Agmon-Snir said.
Agmon-Snir said that learning Arabic could be especially beneficial for Israelis doing business in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the two Gulf countries that officially established diplomatic relations with Israel at a White House signing ceremony on Tuesday.
“Arabic is not only a language, it’s a culture,” Agmon-Snir said. “If you get into it, you can make business that you couldn’t do before and this is going to be very important to businesspeople who are going to work over there.”
You can read the full article here.
Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its continued support of our Arabic Language Center.
