A notice in a bathroom in Ben Gurion Airport, printed in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and English. The Arabic portion of the sign has been vandalized.

The Israeli population is a linguistically and culturally diverse community. The 15th edition of Ethnologue lists 33 languages and dialects spoken in local communities, whether small or large [1]. The main language used for communication among Israeli citizens is Modern Hebrew, a language that emerged in the late 19th century, based on different dialects of ancient Hebrew and heavily influenced by European languages. Several laws determine the official status of languages and language policy in Israel. This confusing situation led to several appeals to the supreme court, whose rulings enforced the current policy of national and local authorities. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixelsFull resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 3. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixelsFull resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 3. ... Front view of Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion International Airport Ben Gurion International Airport or Ben Gurion Airport, (named for David Ben_Gurion), located near Lod and once known as Lod Airport, is 15 km southeast of Tel Aviv, and is the largest international airport in Israel. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... European languages are the object of Eurolinguistics. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. ... The Supreme Court (Hebrew: בית המשפט העליון, Beit Hamishpat Haelyon ) is at the head of the court system in the State of Israel. ...

Official status of languages

An Israeli roadsign in Hebrew, Arabic, and Romanized Hebrew (in place of an English name).

Currently, there are two official languages in Israel; Hebrew and Arabic. The status of English is semi-official. The main law that governs the language policy is the 82nd paragraph of the "Palestine order in council" issued on August 14, 1922[2], for the British Mandate for Palestine: Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Arabic redirects here. ... This article is about the geographical area known as Palestine. ... An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth of Nations which is formally made in the name of the Queen by the Privy Council (Queen-in-Council), or the Governor-General in a Commonwealth realm or Governor by the Executive Council... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Palestine and Transjordan were incorporated (under different legal and administrative arrangements) into the Mandate for Palestine issued by the League of Nations to Great Britain on 29 September, 1923. ...

All Ordinances, official notices and official forms of the Government and all official notices of local authorities and municipalities in areas to be prescribed by order of the High Commissioner, shall be published in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

This law, like most other British Mandate's laws, was adopted in the State of Israel, subject to certain amendments published by the provisional legislative branch on May 19, 1948. is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Hebrew

The Palestine Mandate articles, issued by The Council of the League of Nations in 1922, and The 1922 Palestine order in council were the first in modern time to acknowledge Hebrew as an official language of a political entity. This was a significant achievement of the Zionist movement which sought to establish Hebrew as the national language of the Jewish people, and discouraged the use of other Jewish languages, particularly Yiddish. The League of Nations was an international organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919–1920. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... The Jewish languages are a set of languages that developed in various Jewish communities, in Europe, southern and south-western Asia, and northern Africa. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ...

The movement for the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language was particularly popular among new Jewish Zionist immigrants, who came to Palestine since the 1880s. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and his followers created the first Hebrew speaking schools, newspapers and other Hebrew speaking organizations. After his and the impetus of the Second Aliyah (1905-1914), Hebrew prevailed as the single official and spoken language of the Jewish community of Palestine. When the State of Israel was formed in 1948, the government saw Hebrew as its prime language as a matter-of-fact decision, and initiated a melting pot policy, where every immigrant was required to study Hebrew and often to adopt a Hebrew surname. Use of Yiddish, which was the prime competitor before World War II, was discouraged^[1], and the number of Yiddish speakers subsided as the older generations died out, though it is still commonly used in Ashkenazi Ultra-orthodox communities. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (Hebrew אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן־יְהוּדָה) (January 7, 1858 – December 16, 1922), was principally responsible for the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language from its previous state as a liturgical language. ... The Second Aliyah was arguably the most important and influential aliyah. ... Alternate meaning: crucible (science) The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which heterogenous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (iron, tin; people of different backgrounds and religions, etc. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Today, Hebrew is the language used in official correspondence, in Knesset debates, in court sessions and other official procedures. Hebrew lessons are provided in Arabic-speaking schools from the 3rd grade onwards, and a Hebrew exam is an essential part of the matriculation exams for students of these schools. Type Unicameral Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Deputy Speaker Majalli Wahabi, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Members 120 Political groups Kadima Labour-Meimad Shas Likud Last elections March 28, 2006 Meeting place Knesset, Jerusalem, Israel Web site www. ...

There is a state-owned institute, the Academy of the Hebrew Language, established in 1953 by a Knesset law, whose role is to research the Hebrew language and offer unified rules for the use of the language by the state. Although its decision are supposed to be mandatory, many state-owned organizations ignore them. The Academy of the Hebrew Language (האקדמיה ללשון העברית) is the Supreme Foundation for the Science of the Hebrew Language, that was founded by the Israeli Government in 1953. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Arabic

Arabic is ahjjhjso an official language of Israel. Arabic is spoken mainly by Israeli Arabs, although some members within the Mizrahi and Yemenite Jewish communities also speak it. In 1949, 156,000^[2] Arab Palestinians were left remaining within Israel's armistice line, most bmjof whom did not speak Hebrew. Today there are more than a million Arab Israelis, and most of them speak Hebrew fluently. Arabic redirects here. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mizrachi is also an organisation of the Religious Zionist Movement Mizrahi Jews or Oriental Jews (מזרחי eastern, Standard Hebrew Mizraḥi, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥî; plural מזרחים easterners, Standard Hebrew Mizraḥim, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥîm... Yemenite Jews (Hebrew: תֵּימָנִים, Standard Temanim Tiberian ; singular תֵּימָנִי, Standard Temani Tiberian ) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן, Standard Teman Tiberian ; far south), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ...

For many years the Israeli authorities were reluctant to use Arabic, except when explicitly ordered by law (e.g. in warnings on dangerous chemicals), and when addressing the Arabic speaking population. This has changed following the November 2000 supreme court ruling, which determines that although second to Hebrew, the use of Arabic should be much more extensive^[3]. Since then, all roadsigns, food labels and other legally required messages must be translated into Arabic, unless being issued by a local authority of an entirely Hebrew speaking community.

Arabic was always considered a legitimate language for use in the Knesset, but only rarely do Arabic speaking Knesset members make use of this privilege. This is due to the fact that while all Arabic speaking MKs are fluent in Hebrew, only few Hebrew speaking MKs can understand Arabic. Type Unicameral Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Deputy Speaker Majalli Wahabi, Kadima since May 4, 2006 Members 120 Political groups Kadima Labour-Meimad Shas Likud Last elections March 28, 2006 Meeting place Knesset, Jerusalem, Israel Web site www. ...

Arabic lessons are widespread in Hebrew-speaking schools from the 7th grade to the 9th grade. Those who wish may opt to continue their Arabic studies up to 12th grade and take an Arabic matriculation exam.

In March 2007 the Knesset approved a new law calling for the establishment of an Arabic language academy similar to the one already exists for the Hebrew language. This institute is due to be established by January 1, 2008^[4]. Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

English

The amendments to the British Mandate's legal system, issued in May 1948 (paragraph 15-b) states:

Any order in the law which requires the use of the English language is hereby abolished.

This does not exclude English from the list of official languages, but it abolishes the priority given to English under the British Mandate rule. In practice the use of English decreased dramatically during the state's first years. At first, Israel used French as a diplomatic language, even though most state officials and civil servants were more fluent in English. During the late 1960s, the Israeli-French alliance was undermined, giving way to a stronger Israeli-American alliance, and paving the way for the English language to regain some of its lost status. Today, English is the main language for foreign communication exchange, but it is not allowed in Knesset debates or in formulating laws. Some British Mandate laws are still formulated in English, and their translation into Hebrew is done gradually. English is mandatory as a second language in schools and universities, for both Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking students. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Other languages

Policy towards immigrants' languages

The melting pot policy, which governed the Israeli language policy in its early days, was gradually neglected during the late 1970s. While in the 1950s the Israeli law banned Yiddish theatres and forced civil servants to adopt Hebrew surnames, the new policy allowed immigrants to communicate with the authorities in their language of origin and encouraged them to keep their original language and culture. This new practice has become evident since the early 1990s, due to the massive immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union, and the additional large immigration from Ethiopia. The Israeli authorities started to use Russian and Amharic extensively when communicating with the new immigrants. During the 1991 Gulf War, warnings and instructions were issued in at least 7 languages. Alternate meaning: crucible (science) The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which heterogenous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (iron, tin; people of different backgrounds and religions, etc. ... The big immigration wave of Jews from the Commonwealth of Independent States to Israel during the 1990s started actually at the late 1980s with the opening of the USSR borders in the era of Mikhail Gorbachev liberal government. ... The aliyah of the Jewish Ethiopians began during the mid-1970s, during which most of the majority of the Jewish Ethiopians immigrated to Israel. ... Not to be confused with the Aramaic language. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ...

Non-official languages widely spoken in Israel

Because Israel is a multi-cultural society, many other languages are known by large sectors of the population. The main ones are as follows:

• Russian - Russian is by far the most widely spoken non-official language in Israel, not taking English into account. As many as 16% of Israelis are fluent in Russian after mass immigration from the USSR and its successor states in the 1990s and 2000s. The government and businesses often provide information in Russian, and it is semi-official in some areas.
• Amharic is spoken by most of Israel's 100,000 Ethiopian Jews, most of whom arrived in two massive operations transporting tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews from Ethiopia to Israel (1984 and 1991). Amharic is often used in government announcements and publications.
• Romanian - it is estimated that there are several hundred thousand immigrants from Romania and their descendants in Israel. As such, Romanian is often encountered among this group.
• Yiddish - the Ashkenazi Jewish language and the second most widely spoken Jewish language, is a variant of German, mixed with Hebrew. It was banned in Israel's early statehood days, but is making a cultural revival in the 21st century. It is still regularly used in some ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi communities. However, critics say that it is dying with the old generations of Ashkenazi Jews. Today there is a state-supported authority for preserving the Yiddish culture.
• Ladino - the Sephardi Jewish language and the third most widely spoken Jewish language, it is a variant of medieval Spanish, intermixed with Hebrew. It is spoken by many Sephardi Jews. Today there is a state-supported authority for preserving the Ladino culture.
• Polish - no longer very common, this language was spoken by the large aliyah from Poland. Today, it is somewhat common in Polish moshavei ovdim, created during the 1940s and 1950s.
• Ukrainian - while most Ukrainian Jews prefer to speak Russian, there is a large segment of Ukrainian speakers.
• Spanish - spoken by Jews from Argentina and other olim from other Spanish-speaking countries, and some Sephardi groups. It is not restricted to Sephardim, as most Argentinian Jews are actually Ashkenazim. Spanish has been recently introduced to several schools' curricula instead of French.

A 1978 notice on the Temple Mount in Hebrew, English, and French

• French - spoken by many Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian Jews, often as a second language but also as native language of the francised Maghreb Jews, and by the increasing number of new immigrants from France and other French speaking countries. Also spoken by foreign workers from western Africa. For many years it used to be the diplomatic language of Israel, and it is still taught in many Israeli schools. The French embassy's Institut français supports French studies in Israeli schools.
• Italian - spoken mainly by many Italian Jews. Also, many Jews from Libya (a former Italian colony) speak Italian as primary or second language.
• Persian - spoken by many former Jewish immigrants from Iran and their children.
• Kayla and Qwara - the languages of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewry). Also spoken by some Beta Israel is Amharic.
• Chinese, Tagalog and Thai - while spoken by a negligible amount of Israeli Jews, Chinese, Tagalog and Thai are making a headway in Israeli society in the 21st century, due to an influx of legal and illegal non-Jewish immigrants from China, The Philippines and Thailand. It is estimated that there are 180,000 such illegal immigrants.^{[citation needed]} Many (though mostly Vietnamese) legally entered the country when Israel opened their doors to "boat people" from war-torn Southeast Asia in the 1970s.^{[citation needed]}
• Marathi - Because many Jews from the west coast of India, who were Marathi-speaking, left for Israel after its formation.

Not to be confused with the Aramaic language. ... The Beta Israel (Geez ቤተ፡ እስራኤል Bēta Isrāēl, modern Bēte Isrāēl; ‎), also known by the term Falasha (Amharic for Exiles or Strangers, as they were called by non-Jewish Ethiopians — a term that is considered pejorative) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... Operation Moses, named after the biblical figure Moses, was the covert removal of Ethiopian Jews (known as Beta Israel) from Sudan during a famine in 1984. ... Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, Aškanazi,Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAškănāzî, ʾAškănāzîm, pronounced sing. ... Not to be confused with Ladin. ... Sephardim (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazim and/or . ... Sephardim (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazim and/or . ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Moshav (Hebrew: מושב Translit. ... Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה; ascent) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ... Download high resolution version (4085x2613, 651 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (4085x2613, 651 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Francization is the process of giving a French character to something (a word, an organization) or someone. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... “Farsi” redirects here. ... A modern-day synagogue in Iran. ... KAYLA IS A FUCKING LOSER! ... Qwara, or Qwareña (called Falashan in some older sources), is an Agaw language spoken by the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) of the Qwara area, closely related to Kemant. ... The Beta Israel (Geez ቤተ፡ እስራኤል Bēta Isrāēl, modern Bēte Isrāēl; ‎), also known by the term Falasha (Amharic for Exiles or Strangers, as they were called by non-Jewish Ethiopians — a term that is considered pejorative) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... 20XX redirects here. ... This article is about asylum seekers travelling by boat, and also about films concerning them. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Marathi (मराठी ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western India. ...

References and footnotes

Haaretz (Hebrew: (help· info), The Land) is an Israeli newspaper, founded in 1919. ...

See also

• Languages of Israel Ethnologue (population for each)
• Demographics of Israel

Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization which studies lesser-known languages primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language. ... This article discusses the demographics of Israel. ...

External links

• Language Policy Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

Bar-Ilan University (BIU, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן) is a university in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel. ... Ramat Gan (רמת-גן) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip, just east of Tel Aviv, and part of the metropolis known as Gush Dan, in the Tel Aviv District. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states. ... The official language of the Peoples Republic of China is standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, which means standard speech, based on the Beijing dialect). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... A large majority of people on Taiwan speak Standard Mandarin, which has been the only officially sanctioned medium of instruction in the schools for more than four decades. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Language map in German. ... This is a list of countries spanning more than one continent. ...