I Want Arabs To Succeed!

צום החמישי תשע"ג

Fast of the Fifth Month (Tisha b'Av) 5773

I want Arabs in Israel to succeed.

It's true. I do.

When I taught elementary school English to Arabs in Yaffo, I wanted them to succeed. I encouraged sixth-grader Mustafa and fourth-grader Walid, by telling them how good they were doing, and how talented they were in learning English. I told them how amazing it was that they were gaining mastery over not just a second language, but a third!

While teaching at this school, I was friendly with a fellow English teacher, an Orthodox Christian Arab. Her English was near perfect, and I told her so.

All of my positive comments to my Arab students and colleagues were true. I stand behind every one of them.

Not only was I just fulfilling the duties of the job for which I was being paid, but I was also fulfilling a misswah. Which one, you ask? Read on.

After two years in Tel-Aviv, I moved to Jerusalem, and was fortunate enough to find a job fairly quickly. It was also as an English teacher, but for mostly adults. Then in the summer, I taught in a summer program for junior high and high school students.

When I taught Arab students, I wanted them to succeed, the Kindergarten teacher and police officer from Abu-Ghosh, and the 7th-grader from Jerusalem.

Many Arabs want to leave Israel, having no connection to the land whatsoever, and wanting to be left alone, raise their families, and stay out of the way of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, etc.

Improving their English skills will help them become more marketable both to potential employers in their new home country, not to mention that country's immigration services.

I had the same kewanna (intent) the year before while teaching in Yaffo, both when interacting with students, and when encouraging that fellow English teacher, I mention above, that yes she would do quite well in Canada. Her husband was an Arab Canadian, who was considering a move back with his wife.

If Arabs want to leave Israel, then who am I to stand in their way?
Hopefully, we will not end up having a bunch insane Leftists begging them to stay, like in 1948.

If the Israeli Government is not going to do the right thing,...not to mention passionately doing the wrong things, over and over and over again,...then maybe some encouragement and a gentle push will accomplish what the Israeli government is unwilling to do by force or by bribery.