Guess who is studying Hebrew
From Haaretz.
Hebrew is alive and well. At least in the Arab and Druze communities. For students from those sectors, the Hebrew language has become the new business administration – a social and professional catapult to get ahead and succeed in life. The sticklers add Hebrew literature, too. It’s a triumph of practicality over ideology. The traditional attitude that language is part of national identity and that to study Hebrew is to cross the line, has given way to the quiet conquest of the Hebrew Language Department – at the University of Haifa by Arabs from the north and at Ben-Gurion University by Bedouin from the south. The graduates are almost always assured of a teaching job, which brings with it a livelihood, honor and prestige, relatively speaking. Hebrew is obligatory in every Arab and Bedouin elementary and high school, and good teachers are in high demand. “To be a high-school teacher is fine, respectable work,” says Ta’ir Kizel, from Maghar, a Druze-Muslim-Christian village in Galilee. “To the credit of the patriarchal society, it still retains a little glory for teachers. Some people found my choice strange. ‘What will you do with Hebrew language?’ they asked. Today, in retrospect, I can say that I succeeded and that many of my students want to follow in my footsteps and study Hebrew language at the university. But my ambition is to continue in academe and do a PhD in Hebrew language.”
The article examines a number of different aspects of this phenomenon, such as the motivations of some some of the students, and some university administrators who aren’t so happy about this influx of students. See here for the full article.