Muhammad Hasan Amara

Politics and sociolinguistic reflexes : Palestinian border villages

This sociolinguistic study describes and analyzes an Israeli Palestinian border village in the Little Triangle and another village artificially divided between Israel and the West Bank, tracing the political transformations that they have undergone, and the accompanying social and cultural changes. These political, social and cultural forces have resulted in distinctive sociolinguistic patterns. The primary explanation offered for the persisting linguistic frontier found in rural Palestinian communities is the continuing social, political, economic and cultural differences between Palestinian villages in Israel, and Palestinian villages in the West Bank. In the geopolitical and economic history of the villages, these distinctions have been maintained by the dissimilar treatment received by the two communities and their inhabitants under Israeli government policy. Exacerbated by the Palestinian Intifada, the relations of the Palestinian divided communities to each other and to the rest of the world have produced noticeable differences in economic, educational and cultural development. The sociolinguistic facts revealed in the language situation in the villages are study shown to be correlated with political and demographic differences.

Hebrew and English lexical reflections of socio‐political changes in Palestinian Arabic

The current study shows that sociolinguistic patterns are reflections and transmitters of social and political patterns. The ongoing modernisation of Israeli Palestinian society, which has resulted in a relatively heterogeneous social structure, is most likely to lead to relatively low conformity to single code. Supporting evidence is found by looking at the social differentiation of Hebrew and English lexical items in the Palestinian Arabic spoken in an Arab village.

Teaching Hebrew to Palestinian Pupils in Israel

Hebrew as a second language is not only taught to Israeli Palestinians, but also to adult immigrants and their young children. However, in the case of immigrants the purpose is to replace their immigrant language with Hebrew, while among Israeli Palestinians it is acknowledged as additive. Hebrew is a compulsory language for Israeli Palestinian pupils. It is the dominant language in all domains of life in Israel, making it extremely difficult for Israeli Palestinians to function without sufficient competence in Hebrew outside their home towns and villages. However, the school curricula has not always considered the special needs of this population, and the contents and topics of Hebrew teaching instead emphasised culture and literature. This paper examines three major aspects related to Hebrew language teaching in Israeli Palestinian elementary schools: attitudes towards teaching Hebrew to Palestinians; Hebrew teaching goals and curricula; and the textbooks and their contents. Hebrew teaching in elementary schools is examined against the tensions produced by the challenges of the Palestinian minority in an ideologically Jewish state and of speakers of Arabic under a Hebrew hegemony.

The nature of Islamic fundamentalism in Israel

This article focuses on the nature of Islamic fundamentalism in Israel. The interplay of Islamic fundamentalisms attitude toward the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict and the extent of the movements integration into Israeli political life is explored. In addressing these themes, the history of Israeli Islamic fundamentalism is reviewed from the pre‐state period through the present, as are effects of both internal and external factors on the movements development. In general, the movement has followed a pragmatic line, although its future endeavors and nature will undoubtedly be influenced by the continuing peace process.