The Expropriation of Arabic from Arab-Palestinians: On Arabic and Coloniality in the Israeli Academic Sphere

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Expropriation of Arabic from Arab-Palestinians: On Arabic and Coloniality in the Israeli Academic Sphere
Language: English
Authors: Yousef T. Jabareen, Yonatan Mendel (ORCID 0000-0002-5499-8043)
Source: Education, Citizenship and Social Justice. 2026 21(2):174-188.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Arabic, Higher Education, Language of Instruction, Hebrew, Non Western Civilization, Colonialism, Power Structure, Minority Group Students, Second Language Learning, Language Usage
Geographic Terms: Israel
DOI: 10.1177/17461979241274774
ISSN: 1746-1979
1746-1987
Abstract: Referring to three topics -- (1) the place of Arabic in the Israeli public academic sphere, (2) the pedagogy of the teaching of Arabic in Israeli universities and (3) the use of Arabic as an academic language (discussion and research, academic writing, academic sources) -- this paper will study the field of Arabic in Israeli universities as a direct outcome of the power relations in the country, crystallized over the years between the indigenous Palestinian population and the mostly European-oriented Jewish-Zionist decision-makers, thinkers and scholars. Following we will relate to settler-colonial elements in the Zionist project in order to explain the process of inferiorization of Arabic in the Israeli academic sphere, and the way its study was created through prioritizing Western methods that by and large exclude the Arab-Palestinian society and that have made members of this society uninfluential even in the study and research of its own language and culture. These ways included the preference of Western philology ('grammar translation') on direct methods (such as 'immersion' or 'direct teaching'), the decision to teach Arabic in Hebrew, the pattern of discussing Arabic literature in Hebrew, the preference Hebrew-led linguistic landscape, and more.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1509058
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Referring to three topics -- (1) the place of Arabic in the Israeli public academic sphere, (2) the pedagogy of the teaching of Arabic in Israeli universities and (3) the use of Arabic as an academic language (discussion and research, academic writing, academic sources) -- this paper will study the field of Arabic in Israeli universities as a direct outcome of the power relations in the country, crystallized over the years between the indigenous Palestinian population and the mostly European-oriented Jewish-Zionist decision-makers, thinkers and scholars. Following we will relate to settler-colonial elements in the Zionist project in order to explain the process of inferiorization of Arabic in the Israeli academic sphere, and the way its study was created through prioritizing Western methods that by and large exclude the Arab-Palestinian society and that have made members of this society uninfluential even in the study and research of its own language and culture. These ways included the preference of Western philology ('grammar translation') on direct methods (such as 'immersion' or 'direct teaching'), the decision to teach Arabic in Hebrew, the pattern of discussing Arabic literature in Hebrew, the preference Hebrew-led linguistic landscape, and more.
ISSN:1746-1979
1746-1987
DOI:10.1177/17461979241274774