Arabic on Jerusalem’s light rail

This story originally appeared on The Media Line.

Avital Horn led her students onto the Jerusalem light rail train. All dressed in purple T-shirts, she began an Arabic lesson with the giggling teenagers.

“Good morning,” she said cheerfully in Arabic.

“Good morning,” they chorused.

Another teacher taught an Arabic saying.

“When your neighbor is happy, you are happy,” it went.

The traveling Arabic class is a response to a series of attacks on Palestinians both on the light rail train, and in other parts of Jerusalem. In several cases, the attackers, who were extremist Jews, said they did not like hearing the language spoken on public transportation. Palestinians have also been responsible for a series of attacks on Israelis, including the killing of four synagogue worshippers and a policeman last November, and several recent attacks on light rail bus stops that have killed several Israelis, the most recent just last month.

The light rail runs through Jewish and Arab neighborhoods in this city of 800,000, which is two-thirds Jewish, and one-third Arab. Most of the Palestinian residents of the city are not citizens, although 20 percent of Israel’s citizens are Arab.

“We decided to initiate the event with teachers and students because we decided you can do a lot with positive active citizenship activities. Education is the best way to fight racism¸” Miriam Darmoni Charbit, Director of Civics and Shared Society, of the Center for Education and Technology told The Media Line. “If you want to stop violence against Arabs, Ethiopians and Russians you have to do activities that are positive and show that most Israelis do not support violence and racism.”

One year of Arabic language is required, according to the Ministry of Education. In practice, many schools ignore the requirement, or focus on learning basic reading and writing. Most of Israel’s high school students graduate with very little, if any, Arabic. Those participating today are in the minority.

“Speaking Arabic in Jerusalem, the capital, is saying that anyone in Israel, in a democratic state can speak in their language and have their culture be heard, Eldar Rosental, 18, a high school senior at the Ahad Ha’am High School in Petach Tikva told The Media Line. “It’s important that everyone has a chance to express their culture in our state. After the racist events against Arabic speakers we decided we should go to Jerusalem.”

Most of the travelers on the train were indifferent to the Arabic class going on around them. But organizers said it was sending an important message.

“This is an effort to bring Arabic to the public space because of the phenomenon of Arabs being beat up on the streets simply because they are speaking Arabic,” “Naomi Schachter, Associate Director of Shatil the action arm of New Israel Fund told The Media Line. “The idea of their mother tongue being unacceptable in public and private spaces is ridiculous. But beyond the event, it’s part of a larger idea of acceptance, tolerance respect for the other and building a shared society we really hope Israel will become.”

There is still a way to go. The night before the Arabic event, a protest by Ethiopian-Israelis against discrimination and racism that turned violent, left dozens, mostly policemen injured. Dozens of demonstrators were arrested.

Ironically, at the same time as the event, a Palestinian who attempted to stab pedestrians at a different light rail station in northern Jerusalem, was shot and wounded by private security guards. A police spokesman said they are investigating the incident.