Hebrew

A man wears a face mask and reads newspaper in downtown Jerusalem on Nov. 8, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Why did Israel’s Hebrew media ignore B’Tselem’s apartheid statement?

While B'Tselem's declaration of Israel as an apartheid state received major coverage across the world, Israel's Hebrew media was almost entirely silent.

By Oren Persico and The Seventh Eye January 14, 2021

A pair of glasses resting on a worksheet used to teach Arabic to Israeli students, during an Arabic class at the Branco Weiss School. (Flash90)

Teaching our children Arabic should be elementary

A new study shows that Jewish Israeli teens who studied Arabic in elementary school have a better appreciation for Arab society later on. As the government continues its attacks on Arabic, it is imperative that teachers and parents fight to ensure children learn the language. By Gil Gertel The so-called nation-state bill, which passed its…

By +972 Magazine May 16, 2017

A Dan bus in Be'er Sheva, which includes station names in both Hebrew and Arabic.

Following complaints, bus company halts Arabic-language announcements

Residents of Be’er Sheva were enraged to find out that a new bus company had announcements in both Hebrew and Arabic. After numerous complaints, the Arabic announcements came to an end. By John Brown* An Israeli bus company in the southern city of Be’er Sheva stopped activating its Arabic-language announcement system last week, following complaints…

By +972 Magazine November 29, 2016

Latest

People walk by a mural depicting a combination of the Israeli and German flag on the Berlin wall, March 13, 2016. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Creating a radical Hebrew culture — in the diaspora

Israeli artists and authors abroad are beginning to create an alternative Hebrew culture that challenges norms and national borders. Israeli politicians, on the other hand, aren’t so pleased. By Mati Shemoelof Over the past few years we have been witnessing the growth of an alternative Hebrew culture, both independent and diverse, outside of Israel. Just recently two Hebrew-language…

By +972 Magazine August 19, 2016

Free speech silenced (Yossi Gurvitz)

When will Israelis start speaking Arabic in public?

A disturbing encounter at a Jerusalem mall reminds Mya Guarnieri that speaking a second or third language does not mean you have to give up your own. Living in Bethlehem, working at a Palestinian university, studying Arabic; writing about the occupation and Israel’s treatment of migrants; standing by my partner, who is under intense pressure…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat March 11, 2014

Palestinian children walking by demolished buildings of the Civil department of the Interior Ministry heavily bombed during last November's Israeli assault against the Gaza Strip, February 10, 2013.

The power of speaking Hebrew in Gaza

Can Gazans boycott Israel while also studying Hebrew at university? One Palestinian believes in the power of understanding Israeli culture and people in their own words. By Abeer Ayyoub “It is 6:30 a.m. Jerusalem time, this is the broadcast from Voice of Israel.” This is how my mornings have always started since I was six years…

By +972 Magazine March 1, 2014

Is Twitter jargon pushing English to resemble Hebrew?

As Twitter and text messaging push vowels out of English to economize on space, could the language end up looking more Semitic than Germanic? I’m used to seeing abbreviations on Twitter, Gchat, and SMS. But I was surprised recently when an editor closed an email with “Rgds.” The “s” on the end helped me guess that…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat June 20, 2012

Ideological revolution in Zionism must include feminist values, rhetoric

By Zoe Jick This week’s provocative NY Times op-ed by Peter Beinart is already the subject of much controversy among those engaged in public debate about Israel and Zionism. Coming from a prominent academic voice of liberal Zionism, Beinart’s message pushes the boundaries of pro-Israel activism by maintaining his “devotion to the Jewish people” while allowing for…

By +972 Magazine March 21, 2012

Israel Palestine flags (wikimedia)

Bernard Avishai on the “right of return” and other rights

Professor and author Bernard Avishai published an article in Harper’s Magazine that sparked a +972 debate on Zionism. Here, in a post that originally appeared on his blog, he responds to some of the charges against his positions that have since been sounded in the blogosphere. By Bernard Avishai At bottom, the question my Harper’s piece…

By +972 Magazine December 4, 2011

Can one be a liberal and a Zionist without being a liberal Zionist?

An alternative understanding of Zionism sees no contradiction between liberalism and Zionism, and makes possible various political arrangements, which do not place the national aspirations of Jews ahead of those of Palestinians. By Jerry Haber Can one be a liberal (or: progressive) and a Zionist? The debate has been going on for some time now,…

By +972 Magazine November 30, 2011

Sign post in Israel indicating the direction of Jerusalem in three languages (photo: izahorsky/flickr cc)

“We” speak Hebrew, “them” Arabic. Why negotiate in English?

Many have argued that the US is no longer a neutral broker between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I’ll take it one step further: is English even the appropriate mediating language? William Shakespeare famously asked, “What’s in a name?” I (less famously) will ask, “What’s in a language?” Today, I called the mobile provider Orange…

By Roee Ruttenberg September 25, 2011