Gazan Hebrew

From Yahoo:

"The latest hot language among Palestinians in Gaza? Hebrew"

Students are flocking to a fledgling Hebrew program sponsored by Gaza's Hamas-run government, encouraged by their parents who learned Hebrew through years of working in Israel. For the first time in nearly 20 years, government-run schools in Gaza are teaching Hebrew, and demand is outstripping the supply of qualified teachers. The driving force behind this pilot program? Hamas.“[Israel is] more developed than us, so we can get benefits out of it – in terms of science, in terms of culture,” says Mohamed Suleiman Abu Shqair, the deputy minister of education in the Hamas government. “This is also to prove to the rest of the world … that we are open-minded, even to teach our enemy’s language in our schools.” Many middle-aged Gazans know Hebrew well, since they spent years working in Israel before the border was tightened in 2003. They say it’s only natural that their children should know Hebrew as well and even hold out hope that they could use it to do business with Israel in the future, hinting at a possible thawing of relations between Israel and Gaza. They also laud the insight of Israeli news analysts, and say that watching Israeli TV news – readily available in Gaza, along with cultural and educational programs – can help them better understand not only their neighbor, but also their own society and political climate. The Hebrew language pilot program, launched in September 2012, is still small in scope. Today it reaches only 20 of 400 government schools in Gaza, with each school offering a single class of 30 to 40 students, although Mr. Abu Shqair says that demand is much higher and enrollment is only limited by a shortage of Hebrew teachers. Even the program’s strongest proponents don’t claim that it will improve ties between Israel and Hamas, which is designated by Israel and the West as a terrorist organization. In fact, some suggest that the intent is more to understand the enemy. “We are not looking for developing things with the Israelis, we are learning Hebrew to protect ourselves and to defend our country from the Israeli occupation,” says Maysam El-Khateeb, a Hebrew teacher at the Hassan Salma co-ed school in Gaza City. Citing a popular proverb, she adds, “As we say, if you know the language of the other nations, you will protect yourself from their hatred and evil work.”  One of her students, 14-year-old Nadine, goes even further. When asked why it is important to know the language of one’s enemy, she responds confidently, “To attack them, because we must know how they think, how they talk about us.”

Daniel Fares, a father of 15 who spent most of his life working in Israel, much of it at a Coca-Cola factory, is familiar with the proverb. But he also suggests Hebrew can help improve understanding between Jews and Arabs. His children haven’t learned Hebrew, but he hopes the pilot program will expand to their schools. “In the future they could be translators, analysts, businessmen,” he says, speaking fondly of his Israeli boss at Coca-Cola. Back at Hassan Salma school, Mrs. Khateeb opens her afternoon class by saying “Erev tov!” (Good evening!) "Erev tov," the students respond.

“Who are you? What are you? What are you studying?” she asks, beginning a sing-song pattern of call and repeat that they are clearly familiar with. One by one, girls in white hijabs stand up to answer the queries. “Where is the notebook? Where is the chair?” she quizzes them, and they answer in unison. This is not the way their parents’ generation learned Hebrew. Saba, a taxi driver sitting on the sidewalk with his boss, says he picked up the language during the 12 years he worked in Israel, starting with only a three-month course and then learning from everyday conversations after that.“To learn it with communication is better even than to learn it at schools,” agrees his boss, Mohammed Johar, who regrets not having learned more Hebrew himself.“It’s good for us to know what Israel thinks, what they are saying in Hebrew,” says Mr. Johar. “The Israeli analysts are really good and they know and are aware of their politics and our politics. So if we listen to their analysts and our analysts, we will get a better idea of what’s going on.” Hebrew was taught in Gaza schools from 1967, when Israel captured the small coastal territory in the Six-Day War with its Arab neighbors, until 1994, when the Palestinian Authority was created under the auspices of the Oslo Accords. The PA became responsible for the curriculum in government-run schools and did not include Hebrew, although United Nations schools in Gaza are run separately and did. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are administered largely independent of each other. Hamas runs Gaza while the PA, dominated by Hamas’s secular rival Fatah, runs the West Bank. While the PA is backed by the West and has ties with Israel, Hamas has refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist and the two entities do not speak directly. Abu Shqair at Gaza’s Ministry of Education insists that the Hebrew pilot program is purely educational and cultural in scope. “We don’t have strategic plans or political plans out of it,” he says. “We don’t have any other ideology in our mind.”But he is eager to expand the program if the government can find enough qualified teachers and hopes that Gaza may one day engage again with Israel. “I don’t want to guess or imagine,” he says, “but if the two people do recognize each other, this will be a normal thing.”

^ I like the idea that the Palestinians in Gaza want to learn Hebrew so they can understand both the Israelis and themselves and can work peacefully to achieve their goals. I do not like those that say they are only learning Hebrew so they can learn how to attack Israel better. Hopefully those who want peace will be in the majority. Language says a lot of a people and to understand their language gives you greater insight into their culture, history, traditions, etc. The Palestinians want their own state and have tried for decades to use bombs, missiles and other terrorist acts to get their dream. That hasn't worked and I doubt it ever will. An intelligent person would take a hard look and see that since decades of violence didn't work maybe they should move away from that and try something new. Maybe they should stop calling for Israel's destruction and start working peacefully and diplomatically to achieve their goals. A country that is constantly being attacked and has always succeeded in protecting itself is not going to give an inch to the attacker, but when the attacks stop the country should be willing to open dialogue and work towards achieving a real peace. Teaching the younger generation Hebrew won't make Palestinians love Israelis overnight, but hopefully it will give the youth a better understanding of the other side as well as teaching them about their own culture and history and with all that knowledge it will make the majority of Gazans cast aside their terrorist ways (or their support of terrorism) and help bring about a lasting peace that will benefit both sides. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/latest-hot-language-among-palestinians-gaza-hebrew-132000314.html