Israel Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Language=== {{Main|Languages of Israel}} [[File:Χ©ΧΧ Χ¨ΧΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ (3777232251).jpg|thumb|[[Road signs in Israel|Road sign]] in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], Arabic, and English]] Israel's official language is [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Until 2018, [[Arabic language in Israel|Arabic]] was also an official language;<ref name=lang1/> in 2018 [[Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People|it was downgraded]] to having a 'special status in the state'.<ref name=lang2/><ref name=lang3/> Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken daily by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority, with Hebrew taught in Arab schools. Due to mass immigration from the former Soviet Union and [[Aliyah from Ethiopia|Ethiopia]] (some 130,000 [[Ethiopian Jews in Israel|Ethiopian Jews live in Israel]]),<ref name="The Ethiopian Population In Israel">[[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]]: [http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_template.html?hodaa=201211307 The Ethiopian Community in Israel]</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-ethiopia-jews-sb-idUSTRE56F4ZY20090716 |title=Israel may admit 3,000 Ethiopia migrants if Jews |publisher=Reuters |date=16 July 2009}}</ref> [[Russian language in Israel|Russian]] and [[Amharic]] are widely spoken.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's welcome for Ethiopian Jews wears thin |first=Bill |last=Meyer |url=http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2008/08/israels_welcome_for_ethiopian.html |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |date=17 August 2008 |access-date=1 October 2012}}</ref> More than one million Russian-speaking immigrants [[1990s Post-Soviet aliyah|arrived]] in Israel between 1990 and 2004.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/study-soviet-immigrants-outperform-israeli-students-1.238970 |title=Study: Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli students |newspaper=Haaretz |date=10 February 2008}}</ref> French is spoken by around 700,000 Israelis,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4156781,00.html |title=French radio station RFI makes aliyah |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=5 December 2011}}</ref> mostly originating [[French Jews in Israel|from France]] and North Africa (see [[Maghrebi Jews]]). English was an official language during the Mandate period; it lost this status after the establishment of Israel, but retains a role comparable to that of an official language.<ref>{{cite book|last=Spolsky|first=Bernard|title=Round Table on Language and Linguistics |url={{Google books|ljumbfV_7y0C|page=PA169|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1999|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=978-0-87840-132-1 |pages=169β170 |quote=In 1948, the newly independent state of Israel took over the old British regulations that had set English, Arabic, and Hebrew as official languages for Mandatory Palestine but, as mentioned, dropped English from the list. In spite of this, official language use has maintained a de facto role for English, after Hebrew but before Arabic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Hava |last=Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot|editor2-first=Hava|editor2-last=Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot |editor1-first=Dorit |editor1-last=Diskin Ravid|editor1-link=Dorit Ravid|title=Perspectives on Language and Development: Essays in Honor of Ruth A. Berman |chapter-url={{Google books|xMzx6xFB0IgC|page=PA90|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers |date=2004 |page=90 |chapter=Part I: Language and Discourse |isbn=978-1-4020-7911-5 |quote=English is not considered official but it plays a dominant role in the educational and public life of Israeli society. ... It is the language most widely used in commerce, business, formal papers, academia, and public interactions, public signs, road directions, names of buildings, etc. English behaves 'as if' it were the second and official language in Israel.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Elana|last=Shohamy|title=Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches |url={{Google books|5mG09P64jzYC|page=PA72|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-32864-7 |pages=72β73 |quote=In terms of English, there is no connection between the declared policies and statements and de facto practices. While English is not declared anywhere as an official language, the reality is that it has a very high and unique status in Israel. It is the main language of the academy, commerce, business, and the public space.}}</ref> Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programmes are broadcast in English with [[subtitles]] and the language is taught from the early grades in elementary school. Israeli universities offer courses in the English language on various subjects.<ref>{{cite web|title=English programs at Israeli universities and colleges |url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/AboutIsrael/Education/Pages/English_programs_Israeli_universities_colleges.aspx |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2023}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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