I agree with
MK Oren Hazan (Likud) that it is important for Jewish Israelis to know Arabic but not for the reasons he gives. (Hat tip:
Rafi)
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"In our daily reality, with Jews riding the buses in Judea and Samaria and hearing the Palestinians – they are usually afraid,” Hazan said. “With global terrorism and radical Islam on the rise, the lack of knowledge and understanding leads to fear.” (Arutz7)
Honestly, and I'm not embarrassed to say this, I don't think that there is anything wrong with being afraid. That's because terrorism and harassment on these buses and all over the country mostly comes from Arabs. We must be like flies on the wall and understand what they are saying when they think that we don't understand.
For our personal and national security, we must be able to understand what Arabs are saying to each other. They don't have to hide, because so few Jewish Israelis know enough Arab to penetrate behind the smile and willing service. We are at a terrible disadvantage, because they understand Hebrew, but we don't understand Arabic. It's a security issue.
There are stories of Arabs warning other Arabs to get off a bus or not to get on, because they were warned. It would be much safer if ordinary Israelis understood Arabic. And it would be best if we could keep that knowledge under our hats.
