Before you learn another language, it often sounds like this:
However, Arabic is an official language of Israel, and the fact that relatively few Jewish Israelis are able to communicate in Arabic creates gaps in understanding and communication, right from the get-go. Since we believe that learning the language of the ‘other’ enables one to gain insight and understanding of his or her culture, we at the JICC have been operating Arabic-language courses for over 10 years. They are indeed, one of our longest-running programs. We continue to be the largest Arabic school in Jerusalem, and maybe the largest in Israel.
Studying Arabic
On September 1 we started up the Arabic classes once again, with our veteran teachers Anwar and Suha, and our newer addition, Gali. This year we had another record-breaking year – 16 classes over 5 levels – some 240 people registered! That is definitely a new high.
And here’s where studying Arabic with us can take you. As we were gearing up for the year our long-time teachers Anwar and Suha were in contact with some of their veteran students. Anwar called one of his students, Anat, who had been in his class from level 1 through level 4, but who hadn’t signed up for level 5 this year. “Anwar,” she said, “Because of the Arabic I studied with you at the JICC, I’m in Greece for the year, helping Syrian refugees. I’m actually able to communicate with them, and help them. Thank you for opening up this opportunity.”
Anat, we’re so happy you’re able to put your Arabic to good use.
Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for their continued support of this program.
