Besides Hebrew and English, what is the best third language to know if you're planning to live and work in Israel? My native language is English and I take Hebrew courses in school.
Israel - 14 Answers
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1 :
Probably French. When 250,000 Algerian jews had to be evacuated from Algeria in 1958 the French were very accommodating. I expect they are still the best bet for the occupation settlers when the big crunch hits.
2 :
Arabic would be helpful for you to know. Another language would be Russian there are plenty of Russians in Israel from what I heard it is closer to 800,000 Russian speaking people.
3 :
Arabic or Russian, depending on your personal interests and goals.
4 :
The first best is English. The second best is Hebrew. The third best is Arabic.
5 :
Arabic of course.
6 :
Currently, there are two official languages in Israel; Hebrew and Arabic. The status of English is semi-official. And here are some more that are widely used. Non-official languages widely spoken in Israel Because Israel is a multi-cultural society, many other languages are known by large sectors of the population. The main ones are as follows: Russian - Russian is by far the most widely spoken non-official language in Israel, not taking English into account. As many as 16% of Israelis are fluent in Russian after mass immigration from the USSR and its successor states in the 1970s, 1990s and 2000s. The government and businesses often provide information in Russian, and it is semi-official in some areas. Amharic is spoken by most of Israel's 100,000 Ethiopian Jews, most of whom arrived in two massive operations transporting tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews from Ethiopia to Israel (1984 and 1991). Amharic is often used in government announcements and publications. Romanian - it is estimated that there are several hundred thousand immigrants from Romania and their descendants in Israel. As such, Romanian is often encountered among this group. Yiddish - the Ashkenazi Jewish language and the second most widely spoken Jewish language, is a variant of German, mixed with Hebrew. It was banned in Israel's early statehood days, but is making a cultural revival in the 21st century. It is still regularly used in some ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi communities. However, critics say that it is dying with the old generations of Ashkenazi Jews. Today there is a state-supported authority for preserving the Yiddish culture. Ladino - the Sephardi Jewish language and the third most widely spoken Jewish language, it is a variant of medieval Spanish, intermixed with Hebrew. It is spoken by many Sephardi Jews. Today there is a state-supported authority for preserving the Ladino culture. Polish - no longer very common, this language was spoken by the large aliyah from Poland. Today, it is somewhat common in Polish moshavei ovdim, created during the 1940s and 1950s. Ukrainian - while most Ukrainian Jews prefer to speak Russian, there is a large segment of Ukrainian speakers. Spanish - spoken by Jews from Argentina and other olim from other Spanish-speaking countries, and some Sephardi groups. It is not restricted to Sephardim, as most Argentinian Jews are actually Ashkenazim. Spanish has been recently introduced to several schools' curricula instead of French. A 1978 notice on the Temple Mount in Hebrew, English, and FrenchFrench - spoken by many Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian Jews, either as native or second language of the francised Maghreb Jews, and by the increasing number of new immigrants from France and other French speaking countries. Also spoken by foreign workers from western Africa. For many years it used to be the diplomatic language of Israel, and it is still taught in many Israeli schools. The French embassy's Institut français supports French studies in Israeli schools. Italian - spoken mainly by many Italian Jews. Also, many Jews from Libya (a former Italian colony) speak Italian as primary or second language. Persian - spoken by many former Jewish immigrants from Iran and their children. Kayla and Qwara - the languages of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewry). Also spoken by some Beta Israel is Amharic. Chinese, Tagalog and Thai - while spoken by a negligible amount of Israeli Jews, Chinese, Tagalog and Thai are making a headway in Israeli society in the 21st century, due to an influx of legal and illegal non-Jewish immigrants from China, The Philippines and Thailand. It is estimated that there are 180,000 such illegal immigrants.[citation needed] Many (though mostly Vietnamese) legally entered the country when Israel opened their doors to "boat people" from war-torn Southeast Asia in the 1970s.[citation needed] Marathi - Because many Jews from the west coast of India, who were Marathi-speaking, left for Israel after its formation
7 :
1st, learn Hebrew very well. Don't underestimate the language and its nuances. Then, go for a 3rd language, but it depends on where you'll be working. If it is in tourism, French is a good option since most Europeans have some background in French. Governmental work....medicine, social services, etc... Then Russian is a good option.
8 :
Israel has two official languauges- Hebrew and Arabic. Arabic is useful as most Arab israelis speak it.
9 :
arabic
10 :
Arabic. Many people in Israel speak it; Arabic is a beautiful language, and it is similar to Hebrew, as both are semitic languages. There are many Russian immigrants in Israel, but personally I would never go near THAT language... lol... It sounds so cumbersome!!!
11 :
Russian, as it's my native tongue. And don't imitate my accent please.
12 :
Russian or arabic
13 :
You don't really need one besides those two, but Russian will give you a social edge as many of your co-workers will likely be Russian immigrants (or their children). With Hebrew and English you'll be in perfect shape, because almost all Russians speak one of the two anyway (especially the younger generation), but speaking Russian also might help you communicate with those not as skillful with languages as you are. EDIT: Arabic would be interesting to know, and would help if you plan to interact with a lot of Israeli Arabs on a personal or proffesional level, but in all likelihood Russian would prove more useful. The Arab speakers are concentrated in the Israeli Arab neighborhoods while Russians are more evenly spread throughout the country, so it's more likely you'd need Russian in a situation rather than Arabic, of course unless you plan on living or working in/near an Arab area.
14 :
Of course Arabic. It's Israel official language alongside Hebrew.
