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| Students Learning Aramaic In Israel |
A Christian village in Israel is teaching Aramaic in an effort to revive the ancient language that Jesus spoke – centuries after it all but disappeared from the Middle East.Maronite children from Jish, who speak Arabic as their first language, are learning the tongue of their forefathers after their elementary school became the only one in the country to teach the subject.The language, which was the region’s dominant language 2,000 years ago, is still chanted in the church – although few understand it beyond prayers.
But, rather than rebel against learning an idiom that has little practical use, the 80 youngsters aged five to ten are embracing learning phrases such as ‘ah chop’ – or ‘how are you?’Many Muslim children are even happy to learn it because, according to the school’s head teacher, it is part of the Arab community’s ‘collective heritage’.In the Arab village of Jish, nestled in the Galilean hills where Jesus lived and preached, about 80 children in grades one through five study Aramaic as a voluntary subject for two hours a week.
Israel’s education ministry provided funds to add classes until the eighth grade, said principal Reem Khatieb-Zuabi.Several Jish residents lobbied for Aramaic studies several years ago, he explained, but the idea faced resistance.
