A small group of Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem, a city with political, religious and cultural divides, are trying to bridge the Hebrew-Arabic language gap through speed dating-based learning. About 20 students meet weekly in a 19th-century villa, and sitting together, Jews facing Arabs, they practice each other’s languages, guided by cards that spell out simple scenarios. that inspire dialogue. When a whistle blows every 20 minutes, participants move around with new partners at tables arranged under colorful murals. The encounters – quick and cordial, if sometimes awkward – help the Palestinians to improve the Hebrew needed to deal with the Israeli authorities, and help the Jews deepen their understanding of Arabic.
Most of the Palestinians in Jerusalem live in its eastern region, which was annexed by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Only native Hebrew is studied in East Jerusalem schools, making it difficult for Palestinians to gain advanced proficiency.
“And it’s the same for Israelis—if they study Arabic, it’s an Arabic you can’t use,” said Maya Giz, a Hebrew teacher in the classical, and commonly spoken version of the language. not mentioned.
Giz, who started the project in 2019 with Palestinian sports coach and his former student Sahar Mukhemar, says the language practice is “crossing the mental boundary” between two people.
He said Palestinians and Israelis participating in the program “share the same embarrassment in talking and can break this barrier of fear together”.
Jameela Khouri, a Palestinian, said that learning Hebrew could help her and others to “merge well into the community and find job opportunities in a good field”.
Jewish participant Eli Benita said that language learning talks about coexistence, in a city where tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sometimes escalate into violence.
“I see that this is the only way to reach the peaceful routine of life in the area we live in,” he said.
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