The Education Ministry has rejected a bill proposed in the Knesset which would make the study of Arabic mandatory in the country’s schools, beginning in the fourth grade. The measure was introduced by Nahman Raz and Abdul Wahab Darawshe, both of the Labor Alignment.
Arabs comprise about 18 percent of Israel’s population and there have been repeated complaints from educators and from the army that the level of knowledge of Arabic among Israelis was unsatisfactory. But the Education Ministry opposed the bill on grounds that the Knesset has never made any subject mandatory to the curriculum and Arabic should be no exception.
The Ministry reportedly is concerned that if one subject is required by law to be taught, it will be followed by demands on behalf of other subjects. It acknowledged however the importance of Arabic language study and promised to do whatever possible short of explicit legislation to increase the study of Arabic.
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