Yonatan יונתן #AdoptIHRA

My greatest regret is never having become fluent in Hebrew. A new school in Gaza’s Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone is now teaching displaced Palestinian children to speak and write the language. Hebrew was taught in Gaza three decades ago, before the Palestinian Authority assumed control of the Strip, but that ended. Hamas later offered it only in limited settings as “the language of our enemy.” I vividly remember older generations of Gazans, especially those who worked in Israel, speaking Hebrew and using it to build relationships across the Palestinian-Israeli divide. My hope is that, alongside English, Hebrew becomes a standard part of education for Gaza’s future generations, strengthening connectivity and enabling Palestinians to communicate directly with neighbors who matter immensely, whether we like it or not. Recently, I met senior Israeli military and political officials whose fluency in Arabic gave them a deeper, more nuanced understanding of Palestinian society. Palestinians likewise need a better grasp of Israeli society, politics, media, and public discourse. Healing and reconciliation require a shared language. Perhaps this can be one small step on the long road toward making that possible.