AMIT student Matan Eliahu has a knack for languages. After spending four years with his family in the United States, he returned to Israel speaking English and Spanish, in addition to his native Hebrew. So, when a teacher at Yeshivat AMIT Amichai suggested he start learning Arabic, his response was, “Yalla, why not?”
Unlike other schools in Israel, which begin offering Arabic-language studies in the 7th grade, AMIT Amichai only begins teaching Arabic in the 10th grade. Despite that disadvantage, when Matan found out that there would be a competition at the end of last school year, organized by the Israeli army’s Intelligence Corps, he started studying, but didn’t really expect anything to come out of it.
“The teacher said to our class, ‘Listen, I know other schools start learning Arabic in 7th grade, but I still think you can do this.’ The competition isn’t just Arabic, it’s also Islam and culture, so I said, ‘Yalla, let’s try, maximum I won’t make it to the finals, but I’ll learn new things, interesting things that are also important—especially as a resident of Israel,” said Matan.
The competition is open to all 10th-grade students studying Arabic in Israel and comprises three stages (school, district and national). Not only did Matan make it to the finals—surprising himself, his teacher, Liat Gubber (pictured with Matan), and his classmates—but he came in second place out of the 15 contestants in the competition, illustrating one of AMIT’s core values: encouraging students to realize their full potential.
After Matan made up his mind to sign up for the contest, not even the 60-page study guide (“There were no pictures!” he said. “It was all text!”) about the Arabic language and culture, Islam and terrorism could deter him from his goal.
“My mother always told me, ‘If you do something, do it with all your heart.’” And that’s precisely what Matan did. He divided the guide into sections and studied it assiduously.
“My whole life started revolving around the competition,” he said. “Because I’m observant, I had time to study on Shabbat. I learned all the material and I set goals for myself—I said, ‘This Shabbat, I’ll study the section on the Koran. Next Shabbat, I’ll study another section.’”
Matan and his classmates are exposed to content about Islam, current events in the Arab and Muslim worlds, Arabic culture and language. This year, they also learned about jihad and Islamic art.
The school’s Arabic program teaches students mainly literary Arabic, said Liat Gubber. They attain a basic level of reading, writing and comprehension of literary and journalism texts. Using newspaper articles, literature and modern Arabic poetry, the students delve into the language’s syntax and grammar and acquire an extensive vocabulary.
The students also take field trips and undertake special projects related to their Arabic studies. Last year, for example, they saw a play at the Arab-Hebrew Theater in Jaffa and took part in a youth group planned by the army.
Gubber said that some students register for Arabic because they enjoy learning new languages and how language is a bridge to another, different culture. Some sign up because their grandparents originate from Arabic-speaking countries like Iraq, Yemen or Morocco and they want to feel more connected to their loved ones. Others sign up because they know that taking the bagrut in Arabic opens doors to the army’s Intelligence Corps.
“It’s a very prestigious door, and the recruits who go there have high-quality positions,” said Gubber. “After the army, if they say they were in [the Intelligence Corps’] Unit 8200, the elite cyber intelligence unit, more doors open for them. It’s really a domino effect.”
For Matan, the desire to learn Arabic stemmed from a combination of reasons—he has always had his heart set on joining the IDF’s Intelligence Corps. “Unit 8200 has always been my goal – I have always wanted a behind-the-scenes kind of job in the army. In this unit, you have a sense of purpose and significance—you’re supplying combat soldiers with intel,” he said.
However, Matan feels strongly that Israelis should be able to communicate with the Arabs living among them and around them.
Learning Arabic “is critical for the army,” he said. “But the language and the culture are something that every Israeli citizen should know. Arabs surround us, they are our neighbors. We can’t just ignore everything that happens there. Behind the language there is a culture that is incredibly fascinating.”
Gubber said this is her fourth year teaching Arabic at AMIT Amichai. She started learning the language as a high school student at an ulpana as well, and also went on to serve in Unit 8200.
Some of Gubber’s former students from her first teaching year are already serving in the same unit, but she said that, looking ahead, Arabic offers these students an advantage in working for the Foreign Ministry, in high-tech, or in the business sector working with Arab Israelis. In addition, she said, media outlets (radio, TV, journalism) need Arabic-speaking reporters, editors and analysts to cover the region.
Gubber said that last year was the first year her students participated in the army-sponsored competition, largely because she felt they were at a disadvantage compared with students at other schools who begin studying Arabic earlier.
“I didn’t believe that a student who starts in 10th grade could win this competition,” she said. “Matan proved that it’s possible.”