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Rosner’s Domain: Should Arabs in Knesset Speak Hebrew?

So, is it polite to speak in the Knesset in Arabic, or Russian, or French, or Amharic, or any other language that not everyone understands?
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January 12, 2022
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The word parliament originates from the French “parler,” meaning “to talk.” Pondering it is a good way to capture in a nutshell the whole brouhaha over the use of Arabic in the Knesset. Does “to talk” mean “to speak” or “to converse”? Is the purpose of the parliament a dialogue, a debate, an exchange of opinions and messages – or is it about one speaking on behalf of one’s constituency, without regard to what other members of parliament say? This is something to think about as we consider MK Walid Taha’s Arabic speech in the Knesset last week. A speech that spawned a debate. 

Here is a summary of the events. During a debate over a bill, the sponsors, all Arab from the Islamist Ra’am party, a coalition member, were left alone in the Knesset plenum with their Arab adversaries, members of the Joint List. They began discussing the bill in Arabic. When the time to vote came and the plenum was full with members of all other parties, MK Walid Taha, the sponsor, still presented it in Arabic.

An uproar ensued. A Likud MK shouted: “Two Arabs are talking among themselves, making fun of us. What do you think, that it is your village here?”. MK Ofir Akunis, also of Likud, said: “The only thing missing is replacing the Israeli flag with the Palestinian flag. Then they will mark a complete takeover.”

A public debate was ignited. Some argued “this is the Knesset of Israel, whose language is Hebrew,” and some respond “even Arabs are allowed to speak their language.” As if these two facts cannot coexist. 

So, is there a problem with an Arabic speech in the Knesset? This question can be answered on three levels: The formal level – is it allowed; the practical level – is it desirable; the social level – is it polite. The formal level is the simplest: a Knesset member is allowed to speak in any language he chooses as long as no other decision has been made. So we better move on to the question of whether it is desirable. 

This is a slightly more complicated question, because it does not have a single “yes” or “no” answer. It is and it isn’t. Why is it desirable? because it allows Knesset members to express themselves in their mother tongue. Because it is good to be reminded that Israel is a diverse country. Because it conveys legitimacy to the minority and its language. Because it allows the minority audience to listen to the speaker in his language. 

But there is also a downside to having MK’s speaking a language other than Hebrew from the podium. Why? Because it is important that everyone understands what is said in the Knesset. Because Israel has an interest to strengthen Hebrew as the state language (a common language is the key to a shared sense of destiny). Because the use of incomprehensible language arouses suspicion, lest it be intended to convey messages that the rest of the public will not understand. Suspicion is a dangerous thing, especially for a minority. The Arab minority in Israel occasionally claims, somewhat justifiably, that the Jewish majority is too hasty to suspect it of ill will. A speech in Arabic does not defuse such suspicion, it contributes to it. 

Finally, there is the question of the French “parler.” Is it the goal of the Knesset to have a dialogue, or does it accept an atmosphere in which MKs shut themselves off each in his or her own bubble? Here, we can make the transition from the question of desirability to the one of politeness. Of course, I must consider the possibility that the expectation from MKs to be polite may seem delusional to some readers. But I’m in favor of setting a bar of high expectations. 

So, is it polite to speak in the Knesset in Arabic, or Russian, or French, or Amharic, or any other language that not everyone understands? On this question, I propose a practical test with four rules.

If you want the Knesset to engage in a dialogue, it is necessary to make sure that everyone understands what everyone says.

Rule One: Do not speak a language that is not understood if there is no translation. If you want the Knesset to engage in a dialogue, and not just in a speech for the sake of speaking, it is necessary to make sure that everyone understands what everyone says (Taha did not have a translator). 

Rule Two: Do not speak a language that other MKs cannot understand unless there is a special and powerful reason to do it. What reason could that be? For example, if there’s a speaker who is not fluent in Hebrew (most Arab MKs speak better Hebrew than their Jewish peers). Another special reason can be a need to make a symbolic gesture (say, a speech in Amharic on the occasion of the holiday Sigd). Or the use of another language can be a kind of provocative statement: say, an Arab MK who wants to speak in Arabic in protest of the Nationality Law. But this last example leads to a third rule. 

Rule Three: Do not use language that is not understood as a provocation in and of itself. So, not as in “I’ll speak a language you do not understand to upset you”. If there is no strong reason, then it is impolite, and reduces the chance for a dialogue. 

Rule Four: Having set the bar high for speaking in a language other than Hebrew from the podium, it is necessary to add another high bar – for the way other MK’s respond to such occasion. Not every speech in an incomprehensible language should be turned into a culture war. We can call this rule the “let’s all calm down” rule. MK Taha spoke Arabic. He spoke Arabic without a particularly strong reason and without worrying about the fact that other MKs cannot understand him. What he did what a mistake and still does not justify a rude attack. Suffice it to say to him, “hey, that was impolite, we too want to understand what you have to say. “

Because we really do.

Something I wrote in Hebrew

I found a cure to COVID (or maybe to COVID anxiety):

The question of whether lessons for the future can be learned from history has never been decided, and it is doubtful whether it will be decided soon. What can undoubtedly be deduced from history is a sense of proportion as we look at present events. For anyone who thinks that current pandemic is an unbearable, cruel event, that it will leave behind a generation of young people whose lives have been ruined, or something of that sort, I’d recommend a short diet of history books. Is it difficult for you? Here’s the cure. A passage from Dan Jones’ book, Powers and Thrones, describing what John of Ephesus saw on his travels in the sixth century: “In town after town, the sick and suffering staggered through the streets, their bellies swollen and eyes bloodshot, pus leaking from their mouths. Grand houses in which entire families and their servants had died stood silent, every room occupied by corpses. Contorted bodies lay unburied, their midriffs rotting and bursting in the heat of the day, the flesh half-eaten by hungry dogs”. The reading is not always joyful, but it certainly puts the COVID in the right historical context. 

A week’s numbers

Israel’s Democracy Institute issued its annual Democracy Report. It refers, among many other things, to what we discuss on the left hand column.

A reader’s response:

David Lee Hoffman did not appreciate my call from last week that the Chief Rabbi ought to get fired: “I’d be agreeable to giving the government the power to fire a Chief Rabbi whenever it is displeased with the way he’s doing his job, so long as the government was given the same power with respect to Supreme Court justices”.


Shmuel Rosner is senior political editor. For more analysis of Israeli and international politics, visit Rosner’s Domain at jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain.

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