Media coverage
Al-Arab (London) · مارس 18, 2
The report examines the growing interest among Gaza residents in learning Hebrew, driven by the need to communicate in trade with Israeli companies and by hopes of obtaining work permits in Israel. It highlights the cases of Ahmad Abu Ajina and Mohammed al-Qatta’, along with data from a training center showing a roughly 400 percent increase in demand, amid high unemployment and a continuing economic crisis in the Strip. The piece also cites the view that employment in Israel may partially ease unemployment and poverty, but does not replace Gaza’s need for reconstruction, factories, and economic projects.
The report examines the growing interest among Gaza residents in learning Hebrew, driven by the need to communicate in trade with Israeli companies and by hopes of obtaining work permits in Israel. It highlights the cases of Ahmad Abu Ajina and Mohammed al-Qatta’, along with data from a training ce…
Gaza – The Palestinian Ahmad Abu Ajina, from the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, has not lost his determination to return to study again to learn the Hebrew language in an attempt to develop his skills in it after an absence of years from the classroom.
Abu Ajina, 34, works as an accountant at an agricultural company in the Gaza Strip, which often has direct contact with Israeli companies within the framework of trade exchange between the two sides.
Abu Ajina says, while sitting on a chair inside a room at one of the educational centers in Gaza City, that “correspondence between companies is conducted in Hebrew, which used to push me to rely on Google Translate to understand its general meaning.”
However, Abu Ajina initially faced many problems because electronic translation is not sufficiently accurate, which compelled him to turn to an educational center in an attempt to develop his language skills and master Hebrew.
The rate of Gaza Strip residents seeking to learn Hebrew has increased by about 400 percent compared with the past few years
The young man, who has never previously entered the West Bank or Israel, points out that the Palestinian people are “linked to Israel, whether at the level of commercial dealings between companies or individuals through the travel of workers and traders or the departure of patients for treatment.”
Abu Ajina, a father of three, explains that learning Hebrew “benefits us greatly in dealing with Israelis without any difficulties.”
Israel allows hundreds of workers from Gaza from time to time to enter its territory for work in a step that analysts say is an attempt to ease the difficult economic crisis suffered by the Strip and prevent an explosion of the situation on the ground.
Last October, Israel decided to increase the number of permits granted to residents of the Strip from 7,000 permits to 10,000, prompting hundreds of Gaza residents to gather outside the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce in the Strip to submit applications for work permits.
Among the applicants were unemployed people, graduates, and the elderly. Abu Ajina was also among them, noting that registering for a work permit inside Israel was “another reason that encouraged me to learn Hebrew.”
He says that despite his work at an agricultural company, that did not prevent him from submitting his personal information to obtain a work permit in order to improve his economic situation and his family’s living conditions.
The situation is not much different for the young man Mohammed al-Qatta’ from Gaza, as he returned to study once again after many years of interruption in order to learn Hebrew after submitting his information to obtain a work permit in Israel.
Al-Qatta’, 40, says that “returning to study again after many years of interruption came with the aim of learning the language in order to be able to interact with Israelis in the event of obtaining a work permit.”
The man, who is skilled in marble work, adds that workers from the Gaza Strip used in the past to speak Hebrew fluently, but that declined because they were prevented for many years from reaching their workplaces.
He continues that Hebrew “is not difficult, especially since it is close to Arabic, but we need to practice it daily,” expressing his hope to achieve that after obtaining approval from the Israeli authorities to enter its territory.
Abu Ajina and al-Qatta’ hope for commercial and economic exchange to take place between Gaza and Israel and for Gaza’s residents to live in security and peace, in a way that benefits them toward restoring their normal condition.
The two men are among hundreds of students flocking to the “Nafha” Center for Language Training and Translation to learn Hebrew, the rate of learning which has increased by about 400 percent compared with past years, according to the center’s director Ahmad al-Faleet.
Al-Faleet says, “The center used to graduate about 200 students interested in learning Hebrew annually, but today it graduates about 1,000 students,” considering that “the noticeable increase is due to the desire of a number of Palestinians to work inside Israel.”
Despite the talk of increasing the number of permits, observers believe that the Gaza Strip is in need of reconstruction, factories, and economic projects in order to bring about a real improvement in the lives of its citizens
He adds that “students usually need to learn the basics of the Hebrew language such as reading, writing, and speaking in order to deal with people,” noting that most students need about five weeks to begin speaking Hebrew.
Al-Faleet, a former prisoner released from Israeli prisons, points out that the center, which has obtained the necessary licenses to operate from the government authorities in Gaza for years, gives traders and those working in Israel a supplement of the vocabulary they will use daily.
According to a report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (government) last August, the number of unemployed people in the Gaza Strip reached 212,000, with an unemployment rate of 45 percent.
Despite the talk of increasing the number of permits, observers believe that the Gaza Strip is in need of reconstruction, factories, and economic projects in order to bring about a real improvement in the lives of its citizens.
Economic analyst Omar Shaban believes that increasing the number of Gaza residents working in Israel “will lead to a partial solution to the crisis of unemployment and poverty” suffered by the Strip, while noting at the same time that “the Strip’s revenues will increase by around three million dollars daily if the number rises to twenty thousand workers.”
More than two million people live in the Gaza Strip under a crippling Israeli blockade since Hamas took power in 2007, and poverty and unemployment are widespread in the Strip. Israel says the closure is necessary to contain Hamas, while opponents consider it a form of collective punishment.
Israel and Hamas fought a fierce war in May, the fourth since 2008. Hamas demanded an easing of the blockade as part of an informal ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt. Israel has eased some restrictions since the end of the May war, while warning that any further easing depends on the continuation of calm.
Text © Al-Arab (London) — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source