Israel has three formal languages, fixed by the British mandate: Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Hebrew is the practical formal language and the most common language spoken in Israel.
All Jews in Israel speak Hebrew and it uses us in every aspect of our life. Hebrew is the language that "rules" the Israeli street, and all businesses and governmental offices use it. Hebrew is spoken as a mother tongue by 3,000,000 Israelis approximately (out of 5,400,000 Jewish citizens approximately), and is spoken as a second language by 2,400,000 other Israelis who came from different parts of the world.
Most as all Israeli Arabs speak Hebrew as a second language.
Arabic is the most common language amongst the Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. It is also spoken by Jews who immigrated to Israel from Arabic speaking countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Morocco…
Arabic is taught in every Jewish school in Israel, and yet there aren't many Israelis ("tzabars"- native Jewish Israelis) who speak Arabic fluently.
English is used in Israel as an international language. It is spoken by Jews who came to Israel from English speaking countries such as the USA, Australia, England New Zealand etc, but mainly as a second or third language that taught in every school in Israel, Jewish or Arabic.
Most as all Israelis speak English in one level or another (most of us speak it rather good), but it is mostly used for communicating with tourists and foreigners.
Other well spoken languages in Israel are Russian (that is spoken by the Jewish Russian and ex-USSR immigrants: 800,000 people approximately), Amharic (that is spoken by the Jewish Ethiopian immigrants: 90,000 people approximately), Yiddish, Ladino, Yevanic, Zarphatic and other Jewish languages that are spoken by Jewish immigrants from Europe (the speakers of these languages get fewer and fewer each year), French (that is mostly spoken by Jews who immigrated from the French colonies in North Africa, such as Morocco, Tunis, Lebanon, Algeria etc)…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Israel
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Israel
2006-12-23 05:23:46
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answer #1
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answered by yotg 6
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Hebrew is the most widely spoken language, obviously. Arabic is also an official language. Yiddish is understood by many Jews. You'll also find the European languages Jewish immigrants brought with them, especially Polish, but also French, German, Czech, and Russian, which you'll find spoken on a smaller basis. I'm unaware of any other languages spoken in Israel. My Israeli friend speaks Czech, Polish, French, German, Hebrew, Spanish, and some Arabic. :-)
2006-12-23 03:58:15
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answer #2
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answered by ? ? 1
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It's hard to describe the most widely spoken languages, since a few of the languages can vary from area to area. You may have more ethiopians in the north, and more french in the south (example, not sure about french).
The older generation from Europe is known to speak yiddish, and as somebody else mentioned - that's why it's dying out.
Most widely spoken...Hebrew, Russian, English, Arabic
2006-12-25 16:28:11
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answer #3
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answered by π² 4
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I disagree with the previous answer. Yiddish is tiny in Israel and dying out. Hebrew is the biggest, then Russian, then English, then Spanish, then Arabic, then French.
However most languages are represented by small communities. You can find virtually everything, including Vietnese, Japanese, German and many African languages.
In general Hebrew and English are the best languages to get by with, as most people speak both of these, including Israeli Arabs.
rgds
2006-12-23 13:02:32
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answer #4
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answered by colonel 2
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jews speak hebrew. arabs speak arabic. americans speak english-they all adapt from eachother!
2006-12-24 13:44:07
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answer #5
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answered by Eye of the Beholder 4
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hebrew, english, french. -trust me, im israeli!
2006-12-24 15:33:43
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answer #6
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answered by yankeegurl 4
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