Israeli Languages....?

Question

I'd have thought that Hebrew would be the main dominant language of Israel-but I don't know any Hebrew.
I know a little Arabic, and was wondering if developing this could be any good for the middle East in general as well as Israel-Israel being a Muslim nation (by and large) and the Qu'ran being written in Arabic, it's got to be pretty widespread, right?
Right?
Which is the right language for getting around the Middle East is, I guess, the question at hand here...

Answer 1

It is not easy to tell if the asker is being serious or facetious. He said "Israel being a Muslim nation (by and large)."

This is not exactly accurate. Israel is a Jewish state -- actually THE Jewish state. Th eonly one in a sea of Arab states.

It has a large Muslim minority, which is afforded full citizenship rights, much more so than the Muslims get in Muslim states. And infinitely more than Jews would get in Muslim states.

In fact, in places like Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Jews are neither able to become citizens nor to own property.

So that it would not hurt you to learn Arabic, in Israel that would not be necessary.


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Answer 2

Israel is not a predominantly Muslim nation. I can only assume that was a typo.
In general, the best language for getting around the Middle East is Arabic, though each region has its own dialect. Hebrew will only help you in Israel, but for the most part Arabic will not help you there. English and Arabic would be sufficient to get around Israel though, as most Hebrew speaking Israelis speak decent English (Israeli Arabs speak Arabic of course). It might be a bit clumsy but it'll suffice.

Answer 3

The official languages of Israel are (in that order):
Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
Although Israel is not a Muslim nation, most Israelis speak some Arabic, as it is taught in elementary school.

Answer 4

In Israel it would be Hebrew and English
Throughout the rest of the middle east it's Arabic French and English

Answer 5

Israel a Muslim nation? Umm... No, no it isn't.

Specifically, Israel, with its majority Jewish population and minority Arab (largely Muslim) population has both Hebrew and Arabic as the official languages.
However, many Israelis speak English with varying degrees of proficiency (though they sometimes mangle it in the most interesting ways).

Answer 6

1. Israel is not a Muslim nation, it is a Jewish state
2. You can get by in Israel without knowing a word of Hebrew OR Arabic, since most Israelis speak English
3. If you're going to be traveling throughout the Middle East, yes it is best to develop your knowledge of Arabic as not all Middle Eastern countries are as savvy to English as Israel.

Peace

Answer 7

the official languages in israel are hebrew and arabic. you could get along with engish in most places but would find it harde to get along with only arabic as the great majority of jews do not speak arabic.
you mention that israel is a muslim nation. according to judaism it's not muslim and i think most (if not all) israeli jews would very much resent such a statement.
if you want to get around the rest of the middle east, arabic would be best (except iran and turkey) and in most places you'll be able go get along in english.

Answer 8

Palestinians and Arab Jews speak Arabic and make the majority of the people of Israel.

Answer 9

Arabic is an official language in Israel and is fairly widely spoken. It would be a good language to know in most middle eastern countries

Answer 10

if you're going to Israel you will need Hebrew or English. Arabic you won't need, unless you want to talk to Arabs. in that case, just don't bother, go to Iran instead