Two colleges in Israel have recently applied for permission to create programs to teach undergraduate Israeli law programs… in English. The colleges insist that the program will help draw in foreign students looking for a background in international law, but opponents within the Education Committee formed to study the proposals argue that such a program would instead undermine the importance of Hebrew in Israeli society.
Currently, Israel recognizes two official languages- Hebrew and Arabic. English, although not an official language, has shown a growing popularity in the country since the 1990s, and most citizens can hold at least a basic conversation in English. Members of the Education Committee fear that offering law classes in English will not only weaken the status of Hebrew in Israeli society, but also encourage graduates to emigrate to other countries, taking their education and promising futures with them. One of the colleges asking for the program specifically trains students on how to pass the New York bar exams, making a green card the only obstacle to leaving Israel, probably for good.
Another argument in favor of keeping law programs in Hebrew is that law is not universal, in the way that science or mathematics is. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is true regardless of the language it’s described in, but Hebrew law is quite specific to the country, and all of the literature that supports it is in Hebrew. Without the ability to refer to supporting cases or court rulings, a lawyer who does not speak Hebrew would be at a severe disadvantage, thus reinforcing the idea that such a program would only serve as a springboard for emigration.
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